The Brief

I’m still coming down from last weekend's high of singing songs from & Juliet — coming to the Ahmanson later this summer — aboard Center Theater Group’s Pride Parade float. That rendition of “Domino” is going to be stuck in my head for ages.

To help get the pop songs unstuck, our friends at Licorice Pizza recommend the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on Tuesday at the Fox Performing Arts Center, the Preoccupation at the Lodge Room, and Zola Jesus doing two nights at 2220 Arts + Archives. Plus, a look ahead to the Blue Note Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend.

For more to explore, visit LAist.com, where you can help a documentary producer find the missing guitar from Back to the Future and visit a pop-up vinyl shop that’s helping fire survivors repopulate their record collections.

Events

Tuesday, June 10, 6 p.m. 
Live Talks L.A.: Jacinda Ardern in conversation with Rachel Bloom 
New Roads School
3131 Olympic Blvd., Santa Monica
COST: $48 (INCLUDES SIGNED BOOK); MORE INFO

Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand prime minister, and Rachel Bloom, creator and star of 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.'

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Courtesy Live Talks Los Angeles

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Both Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand prime minister, and Rachel Bloom, creator and star of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, are truly groundbreaking in their own ways. And both are no strangers to controversy, with Ardern’s new book dividing her native country over her legacy. Leave it to Live Talks to put these powerhouse women together to discuss Ardern’s A Different Kind of Power. Never one to shy away from taboo topics, Bloom will surely address topics like motherhood, mental health, and the current political climate with one of the world’s youngest leaders ever elected and current Harvard senior fellow.

Thursday, June 12, 6 to 10 p.m.
Proper Presents: Cut Copy 
Santa Monica Proper Hotel 
700 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Australian synth-pop band Cut Copy performs live on stage during a concert at Cine Joia on March 19, 2023 in Sao Paulo.

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Mauricio Santana

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Australian dance pioneers Cut Copy are playing the Proper Presents series in Santa Monica at the hotel’s chic rooftop. You can also splash out and reserve a table, but GA tickets are free, and the summer nights above Santa Monica are a great spot to get your groove on.

Through Wednesday, June 25
Hollywood Fringe Festival 2025
Multiple locations, Hollywood
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO 

With shows in previews until Tuesday and a big opening night party on Wednesday, the Hollywood Fringe is back with dozens of theater experiences on tap from indie creators, from mind-reading nights to one-woman spoofs, new musicals to magic shows, comedy performances, drag performances — you name it. While it can be tough to wade through the list of options, a couple of suggestions for this week include Too Much of a Good Thing at 4:30 p.m. on June 10, and Ms. Tucker Will See You Now at 6:15 p.m. on June 12.

Thursday, June 12, 6 p.m.
Pride Month Hike 
Harmon Canyon
7511 Foothill Road, Ventura
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Now that the PCH has reopened, take a weekday drive up to Ventura for the Pride Month Hike at Harmon Canyon. The Ventura Land Trust and Diversity Collective are hosting a two-to-three-mile moderate hike through Harmon Canyon Preserve, Ventura's largest nature preserve, to celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

Tuesday, June 10, 6:30 p.m.
Los Angeles Angels Pride Night
Angel Stadium of Anaheim
2000 E. Gene Autry Way, Anaheim
COST: FROM $37; MORE INFO 

Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Angels hits a RBI double at Angel Stadium of Anaheim on June 7, 2025 in Anaheim, California.

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Jayne Kamin-Oncea

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Getty Images

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The Angels take on the Athletics at this year’s Angels Pride Night down in Anaheim. Join fans in the Gate 5 Courtyard for pre-game Pride festivities. A Pride Night ticket package gets you discounted pricing and a Pride Night-themed Angels hat with proceeds benefiting O.C. Pride. Baby, I can see your halo.

Through Friday, July 25 
'Dream Stop' 
Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station
1020 E Palmer Ave., Glendale 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

One of my top public art events of the year is the installation that pops up at the Adams Square Mini Park Gas Station. Art? At a gas station? I mean, you gotta love it.

This year, Glendale is hosting a piece called "Dream Stop" by Delight Art Foundation. The exhibit showcases artwork by young people and calls on visitors to “stop and take time to dream.” It features self-portraits on boxes that express the multiple sides of an artist's identity. Hanging from the ceiling, paper planes hold business cards that illustrate what kids would do in a world without adults.

Tuesday, June 10, 9 p.m. 
Open Folk L.A. 
Hotel Cafe
1623 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: $12; MORE INFO 

Priced out of Mumford & Sons at the Hollywood Bowl? Head to Hotel Cafe’s folk night, Open Folk, where up-and-coming folk singer-songwriters perform each week in the club’s intimate space.

Viewing Pick

Wednesday, June 11, 6:30 p.m.
Twin Peaks: The Return, Episode 8 
Vidiots
4884 Eagle Rock Blvd., Eagle Rock
COST: FREE WITH RSVP; MORE INFO

Vidiots in Eagle Rock.

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Julie Leopo

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LAist

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Will we ever get enough David Lynch around these parts? The correct answer is no, obviously. FANGORIA and streaming service MUBI are hosting a one-night-only free screening of episode 8 of Twin Peaks: The Return, Lynch’s “surreal atomic horror masterpiece.” The screening is hosted by FANGORIA Digital Editor Angel Melanson and features Twin Peaks trivia, a costume contest and exclusive giveaways.

Dine & Drink Deals

Thursday, June 12
Margherita Pizza & Margarita Time
Superfine Playa
12746 W. Jefferson Blvd. #2200, Playa Vista
COST: $25; MORE INFO 

Superfine Playa has paired up with The Book Jewel and writer and author Caroline Pardilla for an evening of pizza, cocktails and conversation as she discusses her new book, Margarita Time. Included is a signed copy of the book, a margarita, Margherita pizza from Superfine Playa, and a Q&A and book signing with Pardilla.

By the way, in case you missed it, LAist's Gab Chabran wrote about Pardilla's new book and why she calls the margarita L.A.'s unofficial cocktail in April.

Thursday, June 12, 8 p.m.
Zizou Anniversary Party 
Zizou
2425 Daly St., Lincoln Heights
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

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Jorden DeGaetano

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Super cute French-Moroccan newcomer Zizou in Lincoln Heights celebrates a year of service with an anniversary party on their patio, featuring music by Mathieu Schreyer, El Marchante, Cassandra Dali and special guests.

Thousands of students from schools across Los Angeles walked out Wednesday in peaceful protest of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.

The Los Angeles Unified School District estimated 4,400 students from about two dozen schools participated.

“ I think it's really empowering that we aren't being discouraged to [protest], but it's also really discouraging to have to live through this,” said Roybal Learning Center senior Melisa. 

“The reason I came out is 'cause we're so young and I feel like people always think that like young people don't have a voice and in reality we have one of the strongest voices,” said Jazlyn Garcia, a senior at  Alliance Gertz-Ressler High School. “I want people to go out and vote for midterms, pre-register to vote.”

Leonna, a senior at Downtown Magnets High School and daughter of immigrants from Cambodia, said she was thinking of her neighbors.  “We need to protect the people that make sure that the economy is running and make sure that our lives are the way that they are every day.”

Students said the Trump administration's immigration raids threaten their families, communities and education.

LAUSD estimated that several thousand students walked out.

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Sabrina Sanchez

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LAist

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Students said they were concerned for family and neighbors.

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Sabrina Sanchez

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LAist

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Alexis, a senior at Brío College Prep, said administrators locked down his campus after agents detained a nearby fruit vendor. “He was a part of our community,” Alexis said. “He would always be out there selling fruits to us after school.”

San Fernando Valley students at more than 40 schools plan to walk out Friday.

“Los Angeles Unified supports the rights of our students to advocate for causes important to them,” a district spokesperson wrote in a statement to LAist. “However, we are concerned for student safety at off-campus demonstrations as schools are the safest place for students.”

The district encouraged students to exercise their rights in on-campus discussions and demonstrations.

The University of Southern California board of trustees has appointed interim president Beong-Soo Kim to be its 13th full president.

Kim was named as the interim leader in February 2025 and began the role this summer. He most recently served as USC’s senior vice president and general counsel, and as a lecturer at the law school. Prior to joining USC, he worked at Kaiser Permanente and was a federal prosecutor for the Central District of California.

Kim succeeds Carol Folt, who was brought on to stabilize the university following a series of scandals under the administration before hers. She formally stepped down from her role in July, following criticism of her ability to handle student protests and concerns over fiscal stewardship.

Soon after his term began, Kim oversaw the university’s effort to manage a $200 million deficit, which also led to hundreds of layoffs.

“We did have to make some difficult decisions last year with respect to our budget and layoffs,” Kim told LAist. “And I'm really pleased that as a result of those difficult decisions, we're now in a much stronger financial position and really for a number of months have been really focusing on the opportunities that we see on the horizon.”

In a call with LAist, and joined by USC board chair Suzanne Nora Johnson, Kim touched on bright spots and some of his priorities. He also touched on the relationship between USC and the Trump administration before a sudden ending to the call.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

LAist: You've talked about addressing the mass layoffs and budget challenges. What do you see as the way forward?

Beong-Soo Kim: Our research expenditures have actually been going up over the last year, over the last couple of years. We're focusing on: How do we provide the best possible educational value to our students? We're focusing on how to maintain and strengthen our academic culture of excellence, open dialogue and engagement with different viewpoints.

And we're also really kind of leaning into artificial intelligence and asking questions as a community about how we incorporate AI responsibly into our education, into our operations, into our research. And there are obviously a lot of important ethical questions that we're working on, and it's really an quite an exciting time to be in the position that I'm in.

What are you excited for?

Well, a couple things that we're really looking forward to are, as part of the anniversary of the United States, we're going to be hosting a National Archives exhibition [of] founding documents in late April. We're also looking forward to helping host the L.A. Olympics in 2028. We have our 150th anniversary coming up in 2030 as a university.

So there's a lot that's on the horizon. We also have the Lucas Museum opening up across the street later this year and, of course, George Lucas is one of our most beloved Trojan alumni. So there's so much vitality, so much energy on the campus right now.

USC has, for the most part, avoided the sort of conflicts that the University of California system and elite private institutions across the country have had with the Trump administration. What can you share about how you plan to manage USC’s relationship with the federal government?

Well, we really make an effort to engage with all levels of government, as well as foundations, the private sector, community groups. That kind of engagement is really more important nowadays. Universities can't just go off on their own. It's important for us to partner and find opportunities to work with others. And that's what we've been doing.

And that's part of the reason why I think that our research has continued to go strongly. And I give a lot of the credit to our faculty and researchers who can continue submitting grant applications and continue to do research in areas that are critically important to the benefit of our community, our nation, and our world. And I think that we -—

Suzanne Nora Johnson: —Actually I'm so sorry, but we have to complete the board meeting, and we've got to run. Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. We'll be in touch. Bye. Thanks. Bye.

Huntington Beach will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision striking down the city’s controversial voter ID law.

What’s the backstory?

Huntington Beach voters approved a measure in 2024 allowing the city to require people to show ID when casting a ballot. That contradicts state law — voters in California are asked to provide ID when they register to vote but generally not at polling places.

The ensuing court battle

The state and a Huntington Beach resident promptly sued the city over the voter ID law and won an appeals court ruling striking down the law. The California Supreme Court declined to review the decision earlier this month. The state also passed a law prohibiting cities from implementing their own voter ID laws.

Then, the City Council voted unanimously this week to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.

Does the city have a shot?

The Supreme Court gets 7,000 to 8,000 requests to review cases each year. The Court grants about 80 of these requests, so the city’s chances of getting the court’s attention are statistically slim.

There’s also a question of whether or not the city’s voter ID case meets the Court’s criteria for review — SCOTUS addresses questions of federal law. Mayor Casey McKeon said it does, in a news release, noting a 2008 Supreme Court decision that upheld a state’s voter ID law — in Indiana. But Huntington Beach is a city, and the question in its voter ID case is whether or not a city can implement its own requirements for voting, even if it clashes with state law.

Go deeper

• Huntington Beach's controversial voter ID law is illegal
• Huntington Beach clashes with California over voter ID requirement in court
• HB Mayor defends Voter ID measure as Gov. Newsom seeks to ban it
• Listen 26:32

  The Trump Administration wants your confidential voter data. What’s behind their battle with CA and other states?