Makenna Cramer
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published July 16, 2025 1:33 PM
LAist headquarters in Pasadena.
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LAist
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Topline:
NPR has been picked to receive a $500,000 grant through this year’s Getty Prize, half of which will be shared with Los Angeles member stations LAist and KCRW.
Why now? Ann Philbin, director emeritus of the Hammer Museum, has been awarded the 2025 prize for her work in arts and culture, the J. Paul Getty Trust announced Wednesday.
Why it matters: NPR will receive $250,000, while the other half will be split evenly between KCRW and LAist, with the stations receiving $125,000 each.
The backstory: Philbin was director of the Hammer Museum for 25 years, when the museum developed more than 300 free public programs, including film screenings and workshops for families, according to the trust. The grant comes as Congress considers cutting $1.1 billion previously allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of President Donald Trump’s rescission package.
Read on ... for more on the Getty Prize grant.
NPR has been picked to receive a $500,000 grant through this year’s Getty Prize, half of which will be shared with Los Angeles member stations LAist and KCRW.
Ann Philbin, director emeritus of the Hammer Museum, has been awarded the 2025 prize for her work in arts and culture, the J. Paul Getty Trust announced Wednesday. The honor comes with a $500,000 pay-it-forward grant from Getty, which was established last year. It allows the award recipient to recognize the work of an arts or educational nonprofit.
NPR will receive $250,000, while the other half will be split evenly between KCRW and LAist, with the stations receiving $125,000 each.
Philbin said she’s humbled to accept a prize that has honored so many agents of change in Los Angeles and beyond. Being able to award the grant to NPR is a “thrill,” she added.
“In addition to their in-depth coverage of the arts and culture, they represent the epitome of fearless and essential journalism in a time when threats to free expression and the suppression of diverse voices is rampant,” she said in a statement.
“We love them and need them!”
What station leaders say
Katherine Maher, president and chief executive of NPR, said the grant supports one of the unique and founding purposes of public media — to provide Americans with free access to cultural programming.
“NPR and member organizations like KCRW and LAist exist to serve communities,” Maher said in a statement. “There is no greater recognition or validation of that work than when a member of the community chooses to give back to the mission of public media, and it is especially meaningful at this moment.”
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Former LA museum director wins Getty Prize; NPR, LAist and KCRW to share grant
Alejandra Santamaria, LAist president and CEO, said in a statement that the station’s mission to strengthen the civic and cultural bonds that unite Southern California’s diverse communities is deeply important to her.
Ann Philbin, winner of this year's Getty Prize, the institution's highest honor.
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Mark Hanauer
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Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust
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“At this time when public media is being threatened, we at LAist are grateful for the generous support from Ann Philbin,” Santamaria said. “She understands the value of our coverage and the communities we aspire to serve.”
Jennifer Ferro, KCRW president, said reflecting the people and spirit of the communities that public radio serves is at the core of its mission.
“We’re so grateful for this support and thrilled for the opportunities it will create to further invest in public interest programming for the people of this city,” Ferro said.
Philbin, NPR, KCRW and LAist will be honored at the annual Getty Prize dinner in September.
The grant comes as Congress considers cutting $1.1 billion previously allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting as part of President Donald Trump’s rescission package. The federal funding supports NPR and its member stations, including LAist, which receives about 4% of its budget — or $1.7 million — from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Congress has until midnight Friday to approve the rescission package. If the Senate passes it, the package will go back to the House of Representatives for a final vote.
About the award
The Getty Prize is the institution’s highest honor. It has recognized leaders whose work expands understanding and appreciation of arts and culture since 2013, including architect Frank Gehry and art curator Thelma Golden.
Katherine Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, said Philbin is a powerhouse in the art world, having completely transformed the Hammer Museum into an internationally recognized institution.
Philbin was director of the Hammer Museum for 25 years, when the museum developed more than 300 free public programs, including film screenings and workshops for families, according to the trust.
A 2023 art installation at the Hammer Museum.
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Joshua White
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Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust
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A 2023 installation at the Hammer Museum.
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Jeff Mclane
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Courtesy of the J. Paul Getty Trust
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“Having spent many years working in both Los Angeles and New York, and with longstanding relationships with artists and organizations around the world, she is widely known as a passionate advocate for the arts and a champion for the freedom of expression,” Fleming said.
Last year’s winner, artist Mark Bradford, chose the Arts for Healing and Justice Network for the grant.
A woman walks past a banner showing missiles being launched, in northern Tehran, Iran, on Friday.
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Vahid Salemi
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AP
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Topline:
A woman was arrested at LAX on Saturday night for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government, according to authorities.
Why now: Shamim Mafi of Woodland Hills is charged with helping the regime sell drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition to Sudan.
The backstory: Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, made the arrest announcement Sunday morning on social media.
A woman was arrested for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government at LAX on Saturday night, according to authorities.
Shamim Mafi of Woodland Hills is charged with helping the regime sell drones, bombs and millions of rounds of ammunition to Sudan.
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, made the arrest announcement Sunday morning on social media.
The 44-year-old Mafi is expected to appear in court for a bond hearing Monday afternoon in downtown L.A.
According to the criminal complaint filed by the Department of Justice and obtained by LAist, Mafi allegedly brokered weapons deals on behalf of Iran through Atlas International, a business in Oman she co-owns, including facilitating a contract valued at more than €60 million (or some US $70 million) for the sale of Iranian-made armed drones to Sudan.
She is also being accused of brokering the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses, AK-47 machine guns and other weapons to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense.
Mafi faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
Essayli said Mafi is an Iranian national who became a permanent resident of the U.S. in 2016.
Starting Monday, companies can apply to get their tariff-related refunds back.
Why now: U.S. Customs is launching just the first phase of payouts, so not all the goods imported under the illegal tariffs will immediately qualify.
The backstory: U.S. Customs has estimated that it owes a total of $166 billion in tariff refunds, and the agency's legal filings suggest that the initial phase would tackle the majority of affected imports.
After weeks of waiting to hear how — or whether — the U.S. government might refund the tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court, Monday is the day it finally begins.
Imagine tens of thousands of business owners with their fingers hovering over laptops, ready to enter America's hottest new queue: the U.S. tariff-refund portal.
U.S. Customs is launching just the first phase of payouts, so not all the goods imported under the illegal tariffs will immediately qualify. And the latest federal guidance says that after refund requests are approved, it could take 60 to 90 days to return the money to the importer.
Still, this marks a turning point for U.S. importers, who've waited for clarity for exactly two months since the U.S. Supreme Court declared most of President Trump's tariffs unconstitutional. The high court did not opine on the process of refunds, and government officials at first suggested the process could prove unwieldy.
"Small businesses organized, spoke out, and won a major victory," said Main Street Alliance, which advocates for U.S. small businesses, in a statement. "Now, the federal government must follow through with a refund process that truly works for Main Street."
U.S. Customs has estimated that it owes a total of $166 billion in tariff refunds, and the agency's legal filings suggest that the initial phase would tackle the majority of affected imports. On Tuesday, a Customs official told a judge that the vast majority of eligible importers signed up for electronic payments, as the agency is requiring, and that group is owed about $127 billion.
Will consumers see any of that money land in their pockets? Probably not, economics and legal experts say.
The cost of tariffs has been woven into the prices of many products in a way that can make it hard to separate out what customers ultimately paid. Often, manufacturers, suppliers, importers, retailers and shoppers all absorb costs along the way. And with tariffs landing on the heels of historic inflation, companies big and small have argued that they ate much of the cost to avoid spooking shoppers with higher prices.
In fact, many retailers find themselves in a similar quandary because tariff refunds will go to whoever paid the actual customs bill. It's unclear how, or if, the refunds might trickle down to store owners who paid tariff surcharges to their suppliers.
"As a retailer, I didn't pay tariffs directly. However, I did pay them indirectly in the form of higher wholesale prices," says Joe Kimray, owner of B & W Hardware in North Carolina. Most of his products are either made abroad or use imported parts.
"I plan to have conversations with a number of manufacturers and hope that they will do the right thing and share some of the tariff refund money with us," he says. "I don't expect to get a direct refund check from anyone, but it could be even as simple as offering discounts on the wholesale cost of future product purchases."
Shoppers hoping to recoup their own tariff expenses have launched class-action lawsuits against several companies, including Costco and FedEx. The shipping giant has pledged to pass down any refunds it receives. Costco's CEO last month told investors the company would return shoppers' money through "lower prices and better values" and would be transparent about its plans.
U.S. Customs' initial phase of refunds will focus on tariff payments that haven't been finalized because they technically are still under federal review. (Companies typically pay import duties as soon as their goods arrive at the border, but the complete customs review that follows can take nearly a year.) The government will continue to set up its new system, called CAPE, so that it can later on refund older, finalized tariff payments.
NPR asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection about the scale of tariff refunds it expects to handle in the first phase, including the volume of claims the agency's new tool is prepared to handle on Monday. A CBP spokesperson in response said that CAPE was developed "to efficiently process refunds" and referred importers and brokers to the agency's updated tariff-refund guidance.
NPR's Scott Horsley contributed to this report. Copyright 2026 NPR
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Josie Huang
is a reporter and Weekend Edition host who spotlights the people and places at the heart of our region.
Published April 19, 2026 5:00 AM
Long Beach is the latest SoCal city to get its own Monopoly game
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Top Trumps
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Topline:
A new Long Beach-themed Monopoly game turns local landmarks into playable spaces on the board. The game is part of a recent wave of city-specific editions that has the iconic game connecting with communities through nostalgia and local pride.
How to get a Monopoly game: To be featured, a city has to have enough people excited enough to support the production of thousands of games.
Why now: Top Trumps has expanded U.S. city editions in recent years as interest in board games has resurged after the pandemic. A company representative said that Long Beach, with its strong sense of community and recognizable landmarks, fit the model.
Monopoly lovers can now buy up the Queen Mary, collect rent on Belmont Shore and park their token at a storied tattoo shop, Outer Limits.
The Long Beach landmarks line the spaces of a new Monopoly edition themed around L.A. County’s second biggest city, released just this month.
The Long Beach edition is part of an expanding series of Monopoly games featuring dozens of American cities, which Hasbro licensee Top Trumps started to produce about five years ago when interest in board games surged during the pandemic.
What it takes to make the cut
How does a city land on one of the world's most popular board games? Turns out, it’s not just a roll of the dice.
“We’re looking for places with strong community pride, places where people will really love seeing their city on a Monopoly board,” said Jennifer Tripsea, a partnership sales executive with Top Trumps.
Long Beach fit the bill and got to join a list of SoCal cities on Monopoly boards including Huntington Beach, Riverside and Palm Springs.
Tripsea said in some instances, a city will pitch themselves to the company — she didn’t disclose which have — but not every place makes the cut.
There has to be enough population — or local enthusiasm — to support a run of thousands of games.
Top Trumps sells the games online and through local businesses, sometimes the same ones featured on the board. That creates a built-in customer base: residents, tourists and collectors hunting for their next addition.
And while some businesses may offer to sponsor their way into consideration, their inclusion isn’t a given.
Tripsea said when deciding who earns a spot, the company weighs cultural relevance, brand standards and community input.
The community gets a turn
Once a city is selected, residents are invited to help shape the board.
That means emailing suggested landmarks and drafting potential Chance and Community Chest cards. For Long Beach, one Community Chest card directs players to collect $100 if they "attend a beach cleanup at Alamitos Beach."
Hundreds of submissions flooded in over the last year, many pointing to the same top attractions, Tripsea said. The Queen Mary and Aquarium of the Pacific take up the same spots on the board that are occupied by Park Place and Boardwalk in the original game.
Of course the Queen Mary historic ocean liner landed a plum spot on the Long Beach version of Monopoly.
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Patrick T. Fallon
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Getty Images
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Others featured on the board are lesser known to outsiders, like Rosie’s Dog Beach and the Arts Council for Long Beach.
The arts nonprofit was “surprised and excited” to hear from Top Trumps last year that they were being included in a version all about Long Beach, said interim executive director Lisa DeSmidt.
“I describe Long Beach as a big city that's run like a small town, and that everybody kind of knows each other to some degree,” DeSmidt said. “Long Beach has a sense of community in that Long Beach takes care of Long Beach people.”
An intern for the Arts Council for Long Beach designed its space on the Monopoly board.
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Arts Council for Long Beach
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An intern for the arts council, Peyton Smith, designed its space on the board, featuring small, intricate renderings of landmarks like the Long Beach Airport and the pyramid arena at Cal State Long Beach.
For DeSmidt, the game serves as a kind of cultural snapshot highlighting the city’s mix of arts, neighborhoods and institutions. It’s reminiscent of the council’s own project mapping the city’s cultural assets.
“This ties into uplifting what makes Long Beach unique and what people love about it,” DeSmidt said.
Monopoly's lasting pull
Outer Limits Tattoo was also invited to be part of the game, where it now appears next to VIP Records on the board.
Recognized as the country’s oldest continuously working tattoo shop, Outer Limits’ history dates back to 1927, when it opened in the waterfront amusement district known as The Pike, now home to the Pike Outlets.
Outer Limits' general manager Matt Hand said once word got out that the shop was stocking the game, customers started showing up just to buy it.
“It’s just a cool thing,” Hand said. “Especially when it’s like, ‘The business where I get tattooed’ is on the board.”
A big reason Hand thinks these editions are catching on is nostalgia. Seeing your own city in a board game that you played as a kid — and may be now playing with your own kids — is thrilling.
“You're basically like a part of the game now,” Hand said.
Robert Garrova
explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.
Published April 19, 2026 5:00 AM
Jacaranda trees line a street in South Pasadena.
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David McNew
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Getty Images
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Topline:
You might have noticed a little more purple on your commute in Los Angeles recently. Turns out the jacarandas are putting on their annual show of blooms a little early this year.
Why? Originally from the tropics, jacarandas respond to changes in temperature. They typically flower in our region from late April to mid-June. But remember that sweltering heat wave we got in March?
Where are the purple hot spots? A couple years ago, a local data graphics editor created an interactive map so you can find the purple hot spots.
You might have noticed a little more purple on your commute in Los Angeles recently. Turns out the jacarandas are putting on their annual show of blooms a little early this year.
Originally from the tropics, jacarandas respond to changes in temperature. They typically flower in our region from late April to mid-June.
But remember that sweltering heat wave we got in March?
“They got the clear sign: ‘It’s over 90 [degrees], it’s hot out. Even though you weren’t quite prepared, it’s time to put out some flowers,'” Loral Hall, community forestry senior program manager at environmental nonprofit TreePeople, told LAist.
Hall said not only do jacarandas grace us every year with thick canopies and carpets of purple, they’re relatively drought tolerant, pest resistant and able to grow in urban areas (like in a small square patch of dirt surrounded by concrete).
“They’re attention-grabbers here in Southern California,” said Hall, who grew up in Hollywood and has childhood memories of playing with the fallen purple blooms at a local park. “In a place where we don’t have really obvious seasons, [jacaranda blooms] are a sign that warmer weather is on the way.”
Hall also shared a lesser-known fact about jacarandas: There’s a white cultivar, too. The white version is much more rare in L.A., though with some of the trees rumored to be in a non-public area of the L.A. County Arboretum, Hall said.
A jacaranda at the LA Arboretum.
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Katherine Garrova
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How’d they get here?
The jacaranda is native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Argentina and Brazil.
