The Brief

When trailers began to drop around the film “Forgotten Island” earlier this spring, I knew it was already going to be something different. While this isn’t a new story about the power of friendship, it is one of the rare times it tells this story of leaving through an unapologetically Filipino diasporic lens in a mainstream production.

The DreamWorks Animation film from directors Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado centers around two best friends, Jo (voiced by H.E.R.) and Raissa (voiced by Liza Soberano) as they come to a pivotal point in their lives. Raissa is getting ready to leave the Philippines to attend CalTech in Pasadena. Beyond H.E.R and Soberano, the film doesn’t have any shortage in star power in voice talents including Dave Franco, Manny Jacinto, Dolly de Leon, Jo Koy, Ronny Chieng and Lea Salonga. 

Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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The story is packed with Filipino mythological creatures that Jo and Raissa encounter when they are transported to the magical island of Nakali during their last night together before Raissa departs for America. I was familiar with many of these beings through stories told by my grandmother such as the duwende, tiny spirits that inhabit many of the areas we walk, to others I had never heard of like the kapre, giant tree-like creatures. The great thing is that you don’t have to be Filipino to connect with this film. Its heart is the friendships and memories that keep people close and connected – which encapsulates much of the Filipino diaspora experience.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020-2024 American Community Survey, about 4.6 million respondents identified their ethnicity as Filipino. The Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area is home to more than half a million people of Filipino descent including 154,000 in Los Angeles city and about 27,000 in Long Beach. 

While the film is set in the Philippines during the 1990s, it intentionally speaks to the Filipino diaspora experience, including the sacrifices that often accompany leaving your motherland for another place – something that immigrants and children of immigrants can relate to all in the backdrop of Filipino folklore and mythology.

(from left) Raissa (Liza Soberano) and Jo (H.E.R.) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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In the trailer, Raissa says “These are our memories,” to which Jo responds, “And we are going home.” The film connects remembering with belonging and brings up the question of what “home” really means. That is why many Los Angeles area Filipino community organizations and Filipino American student associations at universities are rallying people to the theater this weekend when the film opens nationwide on Friday. 

For any film, especially one that features an underrepresented community in general, the first box office weekend is crucial to show a strong attendance and audience interest. 

Los Angeles based non-profit Cinema Sala is teaming up with Filipinx in Entertainment (FXE) to conduct Operation “StormTheBoxOffice” for the film because “it is about proving that there is an audience for the Philippine diaspora. And that’s one of our biggest missions,” said Mallorie Ortega, co-founder and vice president of Cinema Sala. “It is proving that there is an audience hungry for our stories and that the industry should continue to say yes to us. So that’s why it was so important to organize our community and to sell out theaters.”

Manang (Lea Salonga) in DreamWorks Animation’s Forgotten Island, directed by Joel Crawford and Januel Mercado.

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SoCal Filipinos, a non-profit network of Filipinos in Southern California, is also organizing screening events. 

“As SoCal Filipinos, we want to support events, artists and films. We decided to do a buyout of a theater. The response was amazing. We sold out of our auditorium in 30 minutes,” said founder Jason Lustina. The group bought out a theater at the AMC at the Grove. 

“We need to show Hollywood, film makers, directors and producers that Filipino stories matter and that our stories are relatable not to just Filipinos but to everyone,” he said. 

“If you’re Filipino whether in the Philippines or part of the diaspora you’ll for sure relate to it. From the characters to the scenes including the Filipino party it was like seeing a piece of our upbringing on the big screen,” Lustina said. 

Leaving doesn’t mean forgetting

Jennifer Adriatico-Westad knew she wanted to see it as soon as she learned that the story was set in the Philippines and incorporated Filipino culture and folklore. This past weekend, she caught an early screening at AMC Universal CityWalk.

“I thought it portrayed Filipino culture in a way that felt recognizable without making the culture itself feel like something that needed to be explained every few minutes. Filipino culture was simply part of the characters’ lives, which I appreciated,” she said. “For me, that also speaks about the diaspora experience. When families leave the Philippines, they don’t leave everything behind. They carry traditions, food, religion, humor, superstitions, folklore, family expectations, and even small mannerisms with them. Those things are then passed from one generation to the next. I think that experience translates across many cultures.” 

“People who leave their home countries in search of new opportunities often carry pieces of home with them. In this story, Filipino culture happens to be at the center…and it’s about time!” she said.

For Ortega, “Forgotten Island” dives even deeper than just representation. 

“Imagine there’s a part of your life that no one could ever understand…It’s not as simple as saying, ‘I feel seen when I watch this movie.’ It’s literally like my body is telling me, I belong,” Ortega said. “What is so important and impactful about this film for our community and for anyone who feels it –  there’s something about me that no one else could ever understand. This is what it is fulfilling for us. This is meant for us to feel like we belong.” 

The people and memories we carry

My family immigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines in the late 1950s and early 60s – first stopping in Compton, then Inglewood and eventually settling in Carson. Unlike most families, my family could not make regular annual trips back to The Philippines once they immigrated because money was tight while settling into a new life in an entirely new country. So they stayed connected with extended family by sending balikbayan boxes (filled with dry goods, gifts) usually around the holidays. However there’s a certain grief being separated by an ocean and once close relationships inevitably change. But what has kept the connections alive is remembering the family and community that continues to shape how we survive even if they are far away. That was confirmed to me when I went to the Philippines for the first time in 2008. 

Leezel Tanglao’s uncle, Oscar Guzman (far left), in front of the house he rented in Inglewood in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

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As a Filipino American born in Long Beach and raised in Lancaster and Carson, I had only heard stories about my mom and my aunts and uncles growing up in this far away land. What little I knew about the Philippines came from them and the old Tagalog movies they would rent from the local Filipino grocery store. So when I went to the Philippines for the first time nearly 20 years ago, I finally understood the heavy feeling and unspoken uncertainty of not knowing when we would see each other again in person. That is what “Forgotten Island” packs and unpacks so seamlessly and reminds us. Remembering isn’t limited to holidays or when someone passes away. Memories are always alive when we care and take the time to remember.

The next time I would return to the Philippines would be more than a decade later in 2019, and this time, I was much older and wiser to not take time for granted. Some of the family members I saw back in 2008 were no longer there but their memories were as strong as if they were still alive today when we sat down to share stories. I would return two more times in 2022 and 2023 and during one of these last trips, one of my uncles had died while I was away. One of the last things my uncle Oscar had told my mom was that he couldn’t wait to hear what I ate during my time in the motherland and he was excited to just imagine all the flavors and smells of home when I returned – that’s what memories have the power to do – to unlock and transport you to another time. 

Leezel Tanglao and her uncle Oscar Guzman in Carson, California.

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So when the film, “Forgotten Island” opens in theaters nationwide on Friday, it’s not just a celebration of Filipino culture or representation. It’s a reminder that not even distance can separate the bonds of community when memories are handled with care and also invites you to, “tayo na” (let’s go) and make more memories together.

The post Leaving home doesn’t mean letting go appeared first on LA Local.

The long-awaited LAX People Mover train is facing new delays due to issues with the final stage of testing and ongoing disputes with the city of Los Angeles. The contractor’s latest estimate has the train opening in January.

Those delays put LINXS, the lead contractor for the project, teetering on breaching an agreement with the construction funders of the train. That agreement laid out that LINXS had to get the train ready for passengers before Oct. 8.

To avoid breaching that agreement, LINXS successfully secured an agreement this week with lenders to extend that deadline by two months to Dec. 8.

The 2.25-mile-long elevated train designed to transport riders between airport terminals and local transit was initially scheduled to open in 2023. The project is so far $880 million over budget.

The deadline extension

A spokesperson for LINXS said they welcome the agreement with lenders.

“The project is approximately 99% complete, and our focus remains on completing the remaining testing and turnover activities required,” the spokesperson said.

Had the deadline remained unchanged and the train unfinished, LINXS would have been in a state of a technical default, according to Scott Lehman, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, a credit agency monitoring the project.

Under a technical default, Lehman said lenders could have started a process of switching the contractor on the train though that would have proved to be “practically very difficult.”

The same situation could arise if the contractor fails to ready the train for passengers in December or if the deadline is not extended through a settlement in ongoing litigation against the city.

LINXS and the city of L.A. have agreed to extend contract deadlines on five occasions in the past.

Status of testing

In the spring, LINXS began testing how the train will operate when it’s open to the public. Airport officials at the time heralded the start of the testing phase as a “visible milestone” and predicted it would take 60 days to complete. 

According to documents prepared by LINXS requesting the latest deadline extension, recent testing has been paused twice to fix components of the tracks that "accommodate movement resulting from temperature changes, seismic activity and normal structural behavior.”

As of last week, LINXS said those fixes are “ongoing.”

The extension gives the contractor enough time to complete testing by Dec. 8 “as long as they start it within the next several weeks,” Shannon McCue, a director for Fitch Ratings, said in an interview with LAist.

In response to questions about the current testing delays, Los Angeles World Airports said safety and reliability of the train are its top priorities.

“We will not compromise on these stringent safety protocols, as delivering a system that safely, dependably, and durably serves Los Angeles and our upcoming global events is our primary focus,” the statement said.

A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Thursday to temporarily restore access to the three media organizations banned from covering White House events last week by President Trump.

In a ruling issued shortly after midnight, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly for the District of Columbia granted a 14-day temporary restraining order to CNN, MS NOW and Politico, which had press credentials of their journalists covering the White House revoked on Saturday.

Yet the news outlets said some of their journalists were denied entry to the White House early Thursday morning. They have asked the court for an immediate hearing.

"A Secret Service agent confiscated the hard pass of journalists from all three organizations," the request submitted to the court said. "And when Plaintiff [CNN Reporter] Betsy Klein, whose hard pass was confiscated on Saturday, September 19, requested to have her hard pass returned, her request was denied and she was refused access to the White House complex."

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a joint lawsuit against Trump to challenge that decision on Monday, on the grounds that their constitutional rights had been violated. They sought a temporary restraining order on the ban that would allow them to report from the White House as the proceedings in the case continue.

In his ruling, Kelly ordered White House representatives to "immediately return, reinstate, and restore" their press credentials to reporters of the three news organizations.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, wrote that news outlets were "likely to succeed in showing that their hard passes were revoked without constitutionally adequate due process," and on the grounds that "'individuals must receive notice and an opportunity to be heard before the Government deprives them' of a constitutionally protected interest."

Trump told reporters on Friday that his decision to ban the three media outlets from the White House had not been sparked by any specific reporting but the accumulation of what he called "two years of unfair and negative coverage."

However, a court filing by the Department of Justice on Wednesday argued that the three news organizations were barred because their reporting jeopardized national security and spread falsehoods.

Judge appeared inclined to order the White House to restore access

On Wednesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly, who was nominated by Trump in 2017, held an emergency hearing after the news outlets filed a lawsuit seeking to undo the ban.

In his introductory remarks, Kelly said it appeared the White House had violated the news outlets' constitutional right of due process — which was set out in previous court decisions — when it abruptly blocked the access of journalists who held permanent credentials to work in the building.

During the emergency hearing on Wednesday, Theodore J. Boutrous, a lawyer representing the three news outlets, said the White House ban was in violation of CNN, MS NOW and Politico's First Amendment rights and called it a form of retaliation for their coverage of the president, adding that it was "probably the clearest case in history" of viewpoint discrimination.

Justice Department lawyer Michael Velchik, on the other hand, argued that access to the White House was a "privilege," not a right. He also cited national security concerns as a reason for the continued ban. In its legal filings, the department had included White House letters to the three news organizations taking issue with stories on a variety of topics, including construction of a "top secret" bunker under the White House ballroom, talks with Iran and whether there were "very bad" vibes at the recent Republican convention in Dallas.

Boutrous pushed back on the claim, asserting that the first mention of national security came only days after the ban was imposed.

" I guess the light bulb went off and they all decided 'Start talking about national security,'" Boutrous said.

Court ruling questions Trump's "actual motivation"

In his Thursday ruling, Kelly said "the court is skeptical — at least on this record — that Defendants' interest in safeguarding national security is the actual motivation for, or is even advanced by, the revocation of Plaintiffs' hard passes," in reference to White House press credentials.

In its court filing, in response to the lawsuit filed by the three media organizations, the Department of Justice included White House letters, dated Sept. 22, where it accuses the barred media outlets of "trafficking in verifiable falsehoods about national security and other issues, and publishing sensitive or classified information." Judge Kelly argued that the defendants offered no evidence to explain how "any of the reporting they identified in their letters to Plaintiffs damaged national security." Adding that the reporters who authored the stories that the DOJ lawyers identified in their letters to the three media "did not even hold hard passes."

Kelly also wrote that "the record is bereft of any relevant 'formally articulated standards' in place before any of the conduct" for which the reporters had their credentials revoked. He dismissed the examples provided by White House in the letters to the three outlets as a standard "so vague it hardly does the trick."

Kelly also ruled out the urgency of the case as to deviate from due process.

"Nothing in the record suggests the need for such urgency here," adding that some of the news stories identified in the DOJ notices to the media "stretches back months or years."

"The sorts of stories Defendants identify in the letters to Plaintiffs are routine," he added.

Kelly's ruling came just hours after an emergency session by the federal court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon in a case that media organizations and experts say will further test the First Amendment protections under the Trump administration.
Copyright 2026 NPR

The Los Angeles Police Department plans to deploy thousands of officers a day during the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it estimates it will cost $732 million to do so. 

Added to the department’s typical staffing across the city, estimated personnel costs for the two-month period hosting the Games soar to more than $1.15 billion. That’s more than half LAPD’s 2026-2027 budget.

Police Chief Jim McDonnell laid out the department’s staffing model — and its whopping price tag — in a budget memo submitted to the Los Angeles City Council’s Budget and Finance Committee in May. The document offers a rare glimpse into security plans for the Olympics, which are being overseen by the U.S. Secret Service. 

It also casts light on the immense cost of policing the Games as concerns grow over what Olympics expenses may fall on the city of Los Angeles, which is the financial backstop for the Games. 

More than half of LAPD officers will be dedicated to the Games

At its peak, LAPD expects to deploy 6,703 officers a day across the city during the Olympics, according to the May budget memo outlining the department’s policing plans.

To do this, the department is planning to dedicate more than half its officers — 4,713 people — to the Olympics and Paralympics over a more than two month period in the summer of 2028. 

But that won’t cover all the personnel LAPD says it needs. Accounting for days off, the department expects around two-thirds of its Olympics staff will need to come from outside law enforcement agencies. 

The department’s estimated cost of housing, feeding and paying those officers from outside law enforcement agencies is $354 million, close to half of LAPD’s anticipated Olympics price tag. The state of California will negotiate contracts with those external agencies, according to a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month.

These plans for the city of L.A. are just one piece of police spending for the Games, which will span the region. Law enforcement officials are expecting that staffing the Olympics and Paralympics will require between 24,000 and 30,000 officers in total, LAPD Commander Mario Mota told a state Senate committee in June. 

He said as many as 16,000 officers a day could be deployed across the entire Los Angeles region during the Summer Games.

Marci Rand, a spokesperson for the Secret Service, told LAist in an email that staffing estimates are still being determined, as are security perimeters around venues.

“The U.S. Secret Service is working closely with our law enforcement partners including the LAPD on developing a robust and thorough security plan for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” Rand said in an email.

The biggest expense will be overtime

The single biggest expense in LAPD’s Olympics and Paralympics cost estimates is for overtime. In total, the department is anticipating a $375.4 million price tag for officer overtime alone.

The department estimates that it will pay its own force overtime for about a third of its Games deployment, and that all outside law enforcement being brought in will make overtime rates. According to the budget memo, “outside agencies do not provide regular-time staffing for an event of this scale; they backfill on overtime.”

LAPD estimates the officer overtime rate to be $131.94 an hour.

The department’s media team declined LAist’s request for an interview on its budget and staffing projections.

No guarantees on federal funding

Olympics and Paralympics security plans rely on public funding. Both the Olympics organizing committee LA28 and the city of L.A. are counting on the federal government to cover the cost of deploying thousands of additional police for the Games. 

Last year, Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $1 billion for Olympics security costs. But exactly how that money will be distributed has yet to be determined. There’s no guarantee that the money will cover all security expenses.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order to create a task force on security and other issues related to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

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In the May budget memo, LAPD staff noted that it’s possible that federal funds will only cover LAPD overtime, not base salaries. 

That potentially could leave the city to pay for more than $300 million in regular staffing costs for LAPD officers assigned to work the Olympics and Paralympics.

California is similarly relying on federal dollars to cover the cost of officers from other agencies who will temporarily come to L.A. If it doesn’t, the Office of Emergency Services estimates that contracting costs could be more than $1 billion, according to a fiscal analysis included in the bill tasking California with executing Olympic law enforcement contracts. 

Security cost €2 billion euros for Paris Olympics

It’s not clear what authorities expect the total security price tag for the 2028 Games will be, but recent Olympics suggest expenses could exceed $1 billion.

A French auditing body found that security costs for the 2024 Paris Olympics were €2 billion euros, Reuters reported last year. Those auditors criticized organizers for not anticipating the high price of security.

A French auditing body found that security costs for the 2024 Paris Olympics were €2 billion euros, Reuters reported last year.

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“The sums spent are not in themselves excessive given the political choice to stage the Games in the heart of Europe’s densest city, but it is abnormal not to anticipate the cost of such an event,” Pierre Moscovici, the head of that auditing body, told reporters, as reported by Reuters.

Paul Krekorian, the former L.A. City Council President who now leads the city's major events office, told LAist in an email that Los Angeles is learning from recent host cities including Paris when it comes to security plans.

Krekorian said in a statement provided by the mayor’s office that those experiences demonstrate “a need to increase public safety coordination and staffing to manage increased tourism, transportation demands, and regional security needs.”

LA is already debating additional Olympics spending

As local officials await details on staffing plans and security perimeters, the Los Angeles City Council is already facing the limits of federal support.

LAPD wants the city to finance 300 new vehicles to temporarily expand the Police Department's fleet during the summer of 2028 — a request it does not expect to be reimbursed by the federal government.

The council’s budget and finance committee kicked that decision down the road, after multiple members expressed skepticism about the possible $30 million expense. But the City Council has already approved spending $13 million on another LAPD request to procure 107 non-patrol vehicles.

MacArthur Park got an unexpected guest Tuesday: Justin Bieber, who joined several members of his band for an impromptu performance.

Social media videos show Bieber, 32, sitting on the grass, playing percussion and singing as people gather around. He performed several songs to a handful of people, including his 2025 hit “Yukon,” according to videos from the impromptu performance.

A source close to Bieber told E! News that he visited the park to distribute gift cards and other resources to unhoused people. A spokesperson for the singer could not be immediately reached for comment.

Bieber, who headlined Coachella earlier this year, played a stripped-down performance with his band. Some people in social media video walked by the set, while others recorded the set.

His surprise appearance adds a different kind of attention typically focused on MacArthur Park. In the last several months city officials, law enforcement and community groups have taken different approaches to addressing conditions at the park and activating the space.

For Brenda Aguilera, director of the Community Transformation Collective, the reaction to Bieber’s visit is part of a larger conversation about the changes at the park. 

Her organization has been working with a neighborhood volunteer group of about 60 MacArthur Park-area residents since March. The group includes parents, caregivers and vendors who meet regularly to identify neighborhood priorities and work with city agencies and community organizations.

Residents involved with the group have reported greater awareness of available services and said they feel safer in the park, Aguilera said. But she added that the people who live in and around the park should be at the center of any assessment of how conditions are changing.

“They’re not in the park. They don’t live in those neighborhoods, so they have to speak to the local community members to hear about their perspectives,” Aguilera said, referring to elected officials.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli pointed to Bieber’s performance as a sign of progress at the park.

Bieber performing an impromptu set at the park is “a testament to the progress we are achieving to take back the park from drug dealers and enliven it for families,” Hochman wrote on X.

Essayli wrote: “Bieber in MacArthur Park. That’s progress. Amazing what can happen when criminals and drug dealers are removed from public spaces.”

Over the summer, the Los Angeles Police Department and federal agents carried out a multi-phase operation targeting drug activity in and around the park, including a June operation that resulted in 13 arrests. Hochman also held a picnic at the park over Labor Day weekend after saying he would return with his family if he believed it was safe enough.

Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez’s office, however, pointed to a longer history of work at the park in response to Bieber’s visit.

“We’re excited to see Justin Bieber enjoying MacArthur Park, just as countless other Angelenos do every day, experiencing what nearly four years of sustained investment and community partnership have made possible,” said Naomi Roochnik, a spokesperson for Hernandez.

The councilmember has invested more than $27 million in the park, including Peace Ambassadors, round-the-clock clean teams, overdose response, street medicine, youth programming, arts and culture and infrastructure improvements, according to Hernandez’s office.

“MacArthur Park’s progress belongs to the residents, workers, promotoras, outreach teams, and community organizations who do this critical, lifesaving work every single day,” Roochnik said.

Community Transformation Collective’s promotoras are among those working directly with residents, Aguilera said, helping connect them with services and providing what she described as “warm handoffs” to organizations that can offer support.

For Aguilera, that community perspective matters when officials assess what is happening at the park.

“It’s not up to us or these elected officials that are in these government bodies to just speak on behalf of our communities,” she said. “They could speak about their efforts, but they can’t speak about the entire perspective. It’s really those that live there that could share that perspective.”

The post You better Beliebe it. Justin Bieber played a set at MacArthur Park appeared first on LA Local.