The Brief

If you’d asked me in high school whether I thought an Oasis reunion tour would be the biggest ticket of the summer in 2025, I’d have told you that you were crazy. I’ve been an Anglophile since the get-go, and I wore out my CD of What’s the Story, Morning Glory? — but I thought I was so indie and cool for listening to this random British band.

Well, joke’s on me. Good luck getting a ticket to the hottest show in town, Oasis’ two nights at the Rose Bowl. Luckily, you can at least still dance your face off to all your Britpop favorites at Gold-Diggers’ "Live Forever" night on Friday, and that’s only $6. Or, head to the Palladium Friday night for another Britpop favorite, Supergrass.

No idea what I’m talking about? No worries. Trek out to Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown for a special Arrested Development show supporting the Keep a Breast Foundation, or check out Sunday’s second annual free Hungry Ghost Festival in Chinatown.

More from LAist: learn about the L.A. Breakfast Club, apply for a new artist residency in Tujunga, or pay a visit to the newly resurrected Norman the Werewolf in Altadena.

Events

Saturday, September 6, 7:30 p.m. 
Jenny Hagel Gives Advice with special guest Joel Kim Booster
The Lyric Hyperion
2106 Hyperion Ave., Silver Lake
COST: FROM $17.85; MORE INFO 

You might know Jenny Hagel from her hilarious long-running bit on Late Night With Seth Meyers alongside Amber Ruffin, “Jokes Seth Can’t Tell,” a skewering of political correctness that was always a favorite segment. Hagel brings more Agony Aunt advice to the stage in her comedy show, with special guest Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island).

Friday, September 5, 10:30 p.m.
Live Forever: Britpop night 
Gold-Diggers 
5632 Santa Monica Blvd., East Hollywood
COST: $6.18; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Gold-Diggers

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This is my jam. Bands of the golden age of Britpop like Stone Roses, London Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Blur, Pulp and of course Oasis will surely be on the turntables at Gold-Diggers’ "Live Forever" dance party. It's timed to definitely maybe not coincidentally match up with Oasis' major stadium shows at the Rose Bowl.

Sunday, September 7, 1:30 p.m. 
Ryan Coogler in conversation with Sev Ohanian 
Armenian Film Society 
Alex Theatre
216 N Brand Blvd., Glendale
COST: FROM $25; MORE INFO

Ryan Coogler, the creative genius behind this summer’s hit film Sinners, plus Black Panther, Creed and more, joins his longtime producing partner Sev Ohanian for a chat with the Armenian Film Society in Glendale.

Sunday, September 7, 5 p.m. 
Copa Guate Banrural 
BMO Stadium 
3939 S. Figueroa St., Exposition Park 
COST: FROM $26; MORE INFO

Guatemalan soccer takes the field at BMO for a friendly match at the Copa Guate Banrural. The Cremas of the Comunicaciones Soccer Club will take on the Rojos of the Municipal Social and Sports Club. Ole!

Saturday, September 6, 7:30 p.m.
d. Sabela grimes: Parable of Portals
Sierra Madre Playhouse
87 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre
COST: FROM $12; MORE INFO

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Courtesy d. Sabela grimes

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Octavia Butler is really having a moment, one that's far overdue. Parable of Portals, a new performance piece based on Butler’s writing, blends dance, sound and visual media. Storyteller and movement composer d. Sabela grimes’ work is on for one night only at the Sierra Madre Playhouse.

Sunday, September 7, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
L.A. Kids Book Festival
West Hollywood Park 
647 N. San Vicente Blvd., West Hollywood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Enjoy a free day of books and stories, music, and a celebration of the love of reading and bilingualism at the L.A. Kids Book Festival in West Hollywood. Plus, Blippi and Meekah will be there! Oh, yeah, and LAist, too!

Outdoor Pick

September 5-7
Red Bull Origin 
Windward Plaza
1 Windward Ave., Venice
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Red Bull

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Dogtown is the logical place for Red Bull Origin, a skateboarding event taking place this weekend in Venice Beach. Top-tier skateboarders, including Olympic medalists Sky Brown and Jagger Eaton, plus legends like Ryan Sheckler, Mark Gonzalez and Tony Alva will be on hand for public skateboarding sessions, contests, demos and more.

Viewing Pick

Saturday, September 6, 8 p.m. 
Cinespia: This Is Spinal Tap 41st Anniversary with Rob Reiner
Hollywood Forever Cemetery 
6000 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: $29.99; MORE INFO 

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Embassy Pictures via Cinespia

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Before The Office, before Parks & Rec, before Borat, there was Spinal Tap. Christopher Guest and Rob Reiner’s behind-the-scenes comedy about a fake band going on the road wasn’t the first mockumentary, but it was genre-defining, spurring quotable lines and Guest’s much-loved follow-up films like Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, and A Mighty Wind. So, crank it to 11 and bring your cemetery picnic A-game to Hollywood Forever for an epic night. Did I mention Rob Reiner will be there in person?

Dine & Drink Deals

Ongoing 
Yogurt with a free waffle 
Thor’s Skyr - Silver Lake
1639 1/2 Silver Lake Blvd., Silver Lake 
COST: FREE WITH PURCHASE, MORE INFO 

Protein is all the rage, and Thor’s Skyr, an Icelandic yogurt brand that’s opened a brick-and-mortar spot in Silver Lake, makes getting your extra grams of protein in delicious. They also give you a free hot waffle with your skyr, so that sweetens the deal.

Through Monday, September 22 and Tuesday, September 30
High Holiday food orders
Gelson’s Markets 
Multiple locations 
COST: $90 DINNERS FOR FOUR, MORE INFO

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Gelson’s Markets

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The Jewish fall holidays are swiftly coming at us, so be ready for guests with chef-prepared dinners and a la carte options for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Gelson’s offers five dinners for four, each priced at $90, including rotisserie chicken dinners and brisket dinners with traditional sides like roasted potatoes, tzimmes and kugel.

Rosh Hashanah orders are available through Sept. 22. Yom Kippur orders are accepted through Sept. 30.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he has requested a yearlong extension of FEMA funding for L.A. fire survivors. Without the extension, the money will run out July 9.

Now the decision on FEMA support lies with the federal government.

The funds have allowed many survivors to afford temporary housing and other daily needs. Most have yet to return home — 2 in 3 survivors who were living in Altadena or Pacific Palisades at the time of the fires are still displaced, according to the latest survey of more than 2,100 survivors by the nonprofit Department of Angels. Nearly 40% of respondents reported they will either soon run out of temporary housing insurance coverage or have already.

The situation is particularly dire for low-income households: Nearly 80% of respondents making $50,000 or less said they didn’t think they could afford housing for three months once coverage ended.

“The data is clear: This recovery is not over,” said Angela Giacchetti of the Department of Angels at a news conference organized by the Eaton Fire Collaborative in Altadena on Thursday. “If you are a survivor, you know this in your bones. For many families, it has barely begun. People have just begun to stabilize. We need federal support that reflects the scale of this disaster and systems that survivors can actually navigate and access over time.”

FEMA assistance isn’t reaching most survivors

The FEMA Individuals and Households Program can provide funding for survivors of disasters to pay for temporary housing, repair their homes, and respond to other challenges that insurance may not cover. It can also help cover costs if a survivor has no insurance.

Gil Barel has been relying on FEMA funds to pay rent on a small back house for herself and her son for the last year. She said they still haven’t been able to return to their rent-controlled Pasadena apartment because of smoke damage, though she still has to pay the rent for it.

Gil Barel is paying rent on a smoke-damaged apartment in Pasadena while FEMA funds have helped her cut the cost of temporary housing.

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Erin Stone

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Barel doesn’t know what they’ll do if the FEMA funding runs out.

“ I'm really stressed out,” she said. “I think I'm just kind of trying to put that thought aside and hope for the best.”

But in the 15 months since the fires, most survivors have not accessed FEMA funding. About 60% have received no FEMA assistance beyond the initial $770 payments dispersed in the immediate aftermath of the fires, according to the Department of Angels survey.

Many have faced denials, according to disaster case manager workers with Catholic Charities of L.A. and lawyers with Legal Aid Foundation of L.A.

That’s the situation for Gayle Nicholls-Ali and her husband, Rasheed, who lost their Altadena home of 15 years in the Eaton Fire. They’ve relied on their insurance to pay for a rental in Montrose, but that’s rapidly running out. And because they have that insurance, FEMA has denied further support.

Gayle Nicholls-Ali and her husband, Rasheed, lost their home in the Eaton Fire. They plan to rebuild, but the cost is a major hurdle.

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“A lot of our ALE [Additional Living Expenses insurance] is going to run out before we even are able to get into a house,” Nicholls-Ali said.

Without FEMA or insurance support, they’ll have to find a way to pay rent on top of a mortgage. They also face a big gap in the cost of their rebuild versus how much their insurance covers. Nicholls-Ali said without the help of FEMA and other sources of funding, recovering feels further out of reach.

Funds for long-term recovery still in limbo

FEMA funding extensions have been routine in past disasters, including the 2023 wildfires in Hawaii and after devastating flooding in North Carolina in 2024.

But the agency has faced significant cuts during the second Trump administration, and there are indications that disaster aid is becoming increasingly political. For example, President Donald Trump has approved aid for just 23% of requests from states with a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators, compared to 89% for states that with Republican governors and senators, according to an analysis by Politico.

The state has also not received more than $33 billion for long-term recovery, which can help pay for infrastructure upgrades and repairs, as well as help rebuild schools, parks and homes. That money was requested by state and local leaders shortly after the January 2025 fires and hasn’t been appropriated by Congress.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Rabbi Amy Bernstein says the wind-whipped fire in January 2025 that scorched much of the Pacific Palisades, destroying her home and damaging her synagogue, “blew everything open” for the community’s faith leaders.

“If our hearts must break, let them break open,” said the rabbi, who leads Kehillat Israel where 300 families out of 900 lost their homes. “This tragedy has really pushed us closer to one another. We’re working to change the things we need changed.”

Faith leaders both in the Pacific Palisades and in Altadena and Pasadena — devastated by the pair of fires that tore across Southern California — have relied on interfaith and community partnerships to rally congregants who are picking up the pieces 16 months later.

They’ve had to learn on the fly about insurance coverage and local land use regulations while still trying to keep their scattered flock together and raising money for basic needs. Pastors in Altadena have had to fight to protect the rights of Black people who decades ago found pathways to home ownership in that community despite redlining — but now risk losing their land to outside developers who sense an investment opportunity.

And throughout this span, faith leaders have had to cater to the emotional and spiritual needs of their communities and think about how they want to rebuild their sanctuaries that were lost or damaged in the fire. More than a dozen houses of worship burned to the ground or were damaged.

Interfaith relationships have become stronger after the fires

This would have been difficult for faith leaders to handle but for the interfaith relationships that became closer and stronger after the fires, said the Rev. Grace Park, associate pastor at Pacific Palisades Presbyterian Church, which burned down.

Methodists, Presbyterians, Catholics, Jews and yogis have not just found common ground in human suffering and loss, but have learned how to lean on one another in a time of dire need, she said.

“It’s a sense of mutual affection and respect, learning from each other and leaning on one another,” Park said. “We’re sharing the joys and the deep valleys of what it means to lead through a time of tragedy.”

Brother Satyananda, a senior monk at the Self Realization Fellowship, lost his living quarters and belongings in the fire. Much of the campus, started by Paramahamsa Yogananda who brought ancient spiritual practices from India to the West, fortunately survived the fire.

Satyananda recalls one day when Bernstein picked up on his sadness and offered him “motherly compassion.”

“We share the same profession where we’re tuned to people in need,” he said. “Now, our relationship has changed because we’re tuning into each other. There’s a greater level of trust.”

Pastor BJ King, who leads LoveLand LifeCenter, worked with the late Rev. Cecil B. Murray to heal communities and build interfaith coalitions after the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

“Back then, there was a choice whether or not to get involved,” he said. “But with these fires, there is no choice. It has affected everybody.”

Pastors have had to acquire new skills

King’s congregation has switched to online services after their leased church building in Altadena suffered smoke damage. Twelve families lost their homes. In addition to helping meet people’s basic needs, King has created a program organizing gatherings to connect therapists with those in need of mental health.

“Many people didn’t even know they needed that,” he said.

One of the most powerful roles faith leaders have played after the fire is to “continue to talk with power, people in charge,” said Pastor Jonathan DeCuir, who leads Victory Bible Church in Pasadena. He and others in the region have continued to meet with local officials and even conferred with Gov. Gavin Newsom to keep things moving for their communities.

DeCuir chairs the board of a nonprofit called Legacy Land Project, which provides financial aid, legal support and guidance on building contractors, as well as medical care to those affected by the fires.

The disaster has brought a level of camaraderie that DeCuir says he has never seen among the region’s clergy.

“Denominational lines have been crossed,” he said. “Even if we have different theological stances or approaches to ministry, we are all now looking at how to care for our people and community. If we don’t come together, Altadena will never ever be the same. The people won’t be there anymore. That, to me, is terrifying.”

While a church is more than a building, physical churches do appear as “beacons of hope” in traumatized communities, said Pastor Mayra Macedo-Nolan, executive director of Clergy Community Coalition in Pasadena. Her group has lobbied for houses of worship to be prioritized on the same footing as businesses in the rebuilding plan.

“When people start seeing churches rebuilding in Altadena, they’re going to feel like it’s going to be OK because the churches are coming back,” she said.

Reimagining a purposeful future

Pastor Jonathan Lewis, fourth from right, holds a groundbreaking service at the site of the burned Fountain of Life Nazarene Church to mark the beginning of its rebuilding in Altadena, Calif., April 26, 2026.

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Damian Dovarganes

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Members of the congregation join in prayer during the groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the burned Fountain of Life Nazarene Church, marking the beginning of its rebuilding, April 26, 2026, in Altadena, Calif.

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Damian Dovarganes

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AP Photo

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Pastor Jonathan Lewis poses for a photo with his congregation during a groundbreaking service at the site of the burned Fountain of Life Nazarene Church, marking the beginning of its rebuilding, April 26, 2026, in Altadena, Calif.

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Damian Dovarganes

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AP Photo

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On April 26, the Altadena Fountain of Life Church broke ground to build a new sanctuary after their house of worship, which had stood for over three decades, was destroyed in the fire. Pastor Jonathan Lewis, who ministers to about 75, hopes the church will be ready in time for Easter next year.

“It’ll be a Resurrection Sunday for our church, too,” he said.

Alexis Duncan, who grew up in Altadena attending that church, came to the groundbreaking with her 6-year-old daughter. She lost both her home and her church building.

“It means everything to me that they’re rebuilding because I want the church to be there for my daughter as she grows up,” she said. “This new beginning gives me and my family hope and the encouragement to come back.”

Some churches like Altadena Community Church, a United Church of Christ congregation, are pausing to rethink their future purpose. The Rev. Michael Lewis, who took over in February after the previous pastor retired, said the congregation is looking into several possibilities for the one-acre lot, including affordable housing.

“We know that a church is not intended to be a landlord and the pastor is no property manager,” he said. “But, we’re also thinking about who is able to return to Altadena? How will this rich, economically diverse community that was scattered by the fire come back?”

The church has been around since the 1940s. A haven for actors, poets and musicians, the former sanctuary also served as a vibrant performance space. Lewis said they hope to incorporate a performance stage into the new facility.

“It’ll look different from what we had before,” he said. “Once we figure out how to build community, we can decide what physical structures will help us support that community.”

As for Kehillat Israel, on May 15, members will carry their Torah scrolls back to their sanctuary, marking one of the first returns by a house of worship to the Palisades since the disaster.

Judaism has had “a long history of starting over,” Bernstein said.

“It’s encoded in our cultural approach to the world, that there are things that can always be taken away from you,” she said. “But what you become can never get taken away.”

The sky above Los Angeles State Historic Park in Chinatown will be dotted with color Saturday with the annual Kite Festival.

The festival had its beginnings as a joyful protest in 2021, back when a proposal for a Dodger Stadium gondola included cutting through the airspace above the park. Organizers say last year’s Kite Festival drew a crowd of about 7,000.

“The Kite Festival, [for] some people, it’s their favorite day in Los Angeles,” said Sue Bell Yank, executive director of Clockshop, the nonprofit arts org that runs the festival. “It’s the time when they really feel connected to their city. More so than any other time.”

This year’s programming includes a kite-making station where you can build your own flying art for a donation of $5, along with art workshops and the unveiling of a large floating, inflatable sculpture by Guatemalan kite artist Francisco Ramos.

An international team of disease detectives is now racing to connect with the more than two dozen passengers who disembarked the MV Honius cruise ship on the Atlantic island of St. Helena before the hantavirus outbreak was identified.

These individuals have flown across the world, including to the United States.

The risk of further spread of this virus is low since it requires close and prolonged contact with an infected individual — and those infected seem to transmit the virus for only a brief period of time. But public health officials want to make sure the outbreak is contained.

Here's how authorities are using the practice of contact tracing to contain the outbreak and keep the hantavirus from spreading.

Contact tracing 101

The concept of modern contact tracing dates to the 1930s and was part of an effort to stop the spread of syphilis. It involves locating the close contacts of anyone who may have been infected. "By identifying people who are at risk of infection," says Preeti Malani, an infectious disease physician at the University of Michigan, "you try to get ahead when people don't have symptoms yet with the goal of preventing the infection from continuing to propagate."

This is a well-tested approach for containing an infectious disease. "It's the oldest tool in the epidemiologic toolbox," explains Malani. "We thought about this a lot early in the pandemic with COVID. But we also do contact tracing for sexually transmitted infections, for things like meningitis and even measles."

Malani likens contact tracing to monitoring ripples in a pond, "trying to prevent those outer rings from propagating by isolating individuals and by identifying individuals who might be at risk of infection."

The idea that "there's a time period where people don't have symptoms but could be harboring the virus, that's what contact tracing helps identify," says Malani.

It starts by pinpointing someone with an infection or suspected infection of the disease in question — in this case, hantavirus. Epidemiologists then look to see with whom they've recently had close contact since these individuals are more likely to have been infected.

This hunt for those with the greatest probability of infection is important. "Otherwise, it becomes an impossible web to contain because everyone is connected to everyone," says Boghuma Titanji, an infectious diseases doctor at Emory University. "So you have to stratify by high, intermediate and low-risk contacts."

The next step involves public health agencies ordering precautions for those who are infected or who may be infected but aren't showing symptoms yet. Such measures may include quarantine, so that an individual doesn't come into contact with even more people — who may then become infected.

One challenge that hantavirus presents is that its incubation period can last up to several weeks. In other words, "people take a long time to become symptomatic after they've been exposed," says Titanji. "Some of these primary contacts would have to be monitoring themselves for symptoms for up to 45 days to be at the tail end of that very long incubation period."

Aboard and ashore

The work isn't high-tech but it is painstaking, requiring officials to reconstruct the many interactions someone may have had over days or weeks.

Onboard the cruise ship, "you might have an individual who is a source of an infection," says Titanji, laying out a hypothetical example. "And then they were sitting at a dinner table with one individual who then goes back to their cabin and shares a bed with their partner who has a conversation with someone else on the deck."

Once someone disembarks the ship, the number of potential interactions can grow quite quickly. This is why officials were concerned when a KLM flight attendant fell ill after being aboard a flight with one of the infected cruise ship passengers. Fortunately, the flight attendant ultimately tested negative for hantavirus.

Titanji is heartened by what she's seen playing out so far. "It seems like the international collaborative effort has been really robust and the mechanisms for containment are in place and underway," she says.

Public health officials argue that contact tracing is a powerful approach that will reduce further spread. "We can break this chain of transmission," said Abdi Mahmoud, the director of the World Health Organization's health emergency alert and response efforts, at a press conference on Thursday.

He has good reason to be confident. Contact tracing was vital during the fight against COVID-19 and helped end the Ebola crisis in Liberia, containing the epidemic there more than a decade ago. Some of the contact tracing even involved hours-long hikes through the jungle to a remote village.

Authorities are hoping for similar success with this hantavirus outbreak.
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