The Brief

Walking down an alley in Hollywood might not be the typical way to watch a live show, but at the Hotel Café on Cahuenga Boulevard, it’s what music lovers have done for 25 years.

It’s a storied music venue that’s been a home for generations of artists. Even big names cut their teeth here, like Adele, Sara Bareilles and Mumford & Sons. It’s the kind of place that has a line well before anyone gets on stage. Phones are a rarity here, and the audience is so silent you can hang on every note.

This place is closing down in early 2026. But the Hotel Café won’t be gone forever — bucking the normal narrative of closures, it’s shutting down in order to expand.

Let’s dig into what made the small space special.

The Hotel Café’s humble origin

It started out as a bit of a sidequest.

Back in 2000, an idea popped into the minds of screenwriting partners Marko Shafer and Max Mamikunian. Why not open a coffee shop together that could serve as a creative home base?

The two bought a vacant space right below a hotel. The plan was simple: Be successful enough to have a staff and go back to screenwriting. The Hotel Café, as they named it, reached that milestone right before Sept. 11 rattled America — and consumer habits nationwide.

“ We were in that position of just having made our success as a coffee shop and then all of a sudden nothing,” Mamikunian said. “We thought we were going to close down.”

Then musician Gary Jules came in, fresh off the heels of his hit version of “Mad World” in the Donnie Darko movie. He wanted to do a set, which put them on a trajectory no one could have seen coming.

“ The line was down the block, and half of the people in line were musicians,” Mamikunian said.

After his show, the Hotel Café gradually morphed into a regular music venue. Jules stuck around to perform and handle some of the booking, then Shafer took the helm.

Magical nights

The intimate, dimly lit setup quickly drew music agents, crooning fans and audiophiles. In the early days, they’d get inundated with demo CDs (now it’s SoundCloud). Shafer hid sometimes from hopeful performers because the demand was just too much.

Musician James Bay's performance in 2022.

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The Hotel Café

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A crowd at the Hotel Café in 2022.

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He and Mamikunian credit the Hotel Café’s following to its consistently curated performance and group showcases, like Songwriter Sunday and Monday Monday. Shafer remembered a time in 2003 when Weezer joined one of those nights.

“ Their manager called me on my Razr flip phone, and so there was no proof it was actually her. I had to take her word for it,” he said.

It was real. Weezer showed up, loaded in some stools and played an acoustic set. Another fond memory, production manager Gia Hughes said, is when Chris Martin’s team called in for a last-minute show. The Coldplay frontman arrived on a Vespa.

“ He’s sound checking ‘The Scientist,’ and it’s just me and the bartender and the sound engineer,” she recalled. “I'm just like, ‘holy sh--, this is unreal.’ It was just one of those super magical nights.”

Hughes said their success also comes from the respectful culture the Hotel Café is known for. It’s as much of a place for music fans as it is for artists. They can sing for a tuned-in audience, or — like Radiohead did — roll up to enjoy a show undisturbed.

A new era

As more and more people came, it was clear the performance space needed more room. They later expanded in 2004 to include the stage next door. Today, they’re in a similar predicament.

A closure date for the Hotel Café hasn't been set yet.

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That’s why they’re moving to a bigger space inside Lumina Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard in the first half of 2027, which they recently announced on Instagram. The new spot will have two stages and a restaurant component.

While many Hotel Café fans are sad to see it move, Mamikunian said it’s another period of reinvention. He’s proud of their time on Cahuenga Boulevard.

“Any business lasting anywhere for 25 years is an accomplishment,” he said. "I think we want to go out in a kind of celebratory way.”

It’s unclear when exactly the Cahuenga spot will close, but they have several farewell performances scheduled through at least the first couple of months in 2026.

“A lot of people are asking us, especially because everybody wants to be one of the last to play the room,” Mamikunian said. “I  think we’ll know within the next few weeks for sure that we can put an actual date on it.”

The hearing: At the corner of Wilkins and Kelton avenues, Hale told reporters that his hearing Tuesday lasted just about 10 minutes. According to Hale, the statute of limitations for his charges remains open until Dec. 7, a year after the street safety activist was arrested. “So they can change their mind, and I do risk arrest if I do this again,” Hale said. The hearing had been rescheduled from its original date of Jan. 5.

The crosswalks: Police arrested Hale as he and a group of volunteers, known as People's Vision Zero, were painting the third of four crosswalk legs at the Westwood intersection. As of Tuesday, the city has not repainted, eliminated or finished the crosswalks at the intersection.

One of the four crosswalks at the Westwood intersection where Hale was arrested remains unfinished. Two legs of the crosswalk were completed by Hale and his group before the L.A. police arrested the street safety activist.

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What’s next: Hale said People’s Vision Zero would continue painting crosswalks if the city does not take concrete steps toward its goal of ending traffic deaths. One way Hale said the city could make progress is by working with his group to create a community-led initiative to paint code-compliant crosswalks.

Dig deeper … into the background on Hale’s arrest.

Want more Olympics updates? Get our behind-the-scenes newsletter for what it's like to be at these Games.

The 2026 Olympics are set to be the most geographically widespread Games in history, the first to span multiple regions and two host cities: Milan and Cortina, which are about 250 miles apart from each other by road.

Over the course of two and a half weeks, athletes in 16 sports will compete in events at 25 venues.

The action is divided among four main clusters across northern Italy: Milan, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Valtellina and Val di Fiemme. Athletes will live in one of six Olympic Villages throughout the region: Milan, Cortina, Anterselva, Bormio, Livigno and Predazzo.

"This approach allows the maximum use of existing venues, reducing the need for new construction and, as a consequence, minimising the carbon footprint," states the International Olympic Committee on Olympics.com.

The venues span an area covering some 8,495 square miles. Getting between towns could take more than a few hours by car — especially on remote, wintery roads.

Sarah Hirshland, CEO of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, says spectators hoping to attend events in person should be realistic about the time and distance required to get between venues and should plan accordingly.

"I think this will be the classic 'pack your patience,' because there will be some travel time," she said.

Even if you're watching from afar, it's still helpful to know which events are happening where. Here's a guide to the 2026 Olympic venues.

Milan: Opening ceremony, skating and hockey 

Milan's San Siro Stadium, site of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony on Feb. 6.

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Milan is a major financial hub in Italy, not to mention a global capital of fashion and design. This is the first time it will host the Olympic Games, kicking off the opening ceremony and housing most of the indoor sports.

The opening ceremony on Feb. 6 will be hosted at Milan's iconic San Siro Stadium. The stadium — known as the Temple of Football — is home to the city's two main soccer clubs, AC Milan and Inter Milan, and marks its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Figure skating and short track will take place at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, known as the Unipol Forum, located in the small town of Assago, less than 2 miles outside Milan.

Ice hockey is spread across two venues, the temporary Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena and the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The latter is the only new permanent venue constructed for the Games.

Speed skating will be hosted at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Cortina d'Ampezzo: Sliding sports and women's Alpine skiing

Part of the Cortina athletes village, seen in December in Fiames, near Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

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Cortina, a prestigious resort town in the Dolomite Mountains, is known for its Alpine scenery and winter sports. The "Pearl of the Dolomites" has hosted the Winter Games before, in 1956.

Alpine skiing will take place at Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, named after one of the most dramatic mountain groups in the Eastern Dolomites. Many competitors will be familiar with the Olympia delle Tofane — the ski run became a permanent fixture on the women's World Cup circuit in downhill and super-G in the early 1990s and also served as the venue for the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in 2021.

Curling events will take place at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium, which hosted many of the indoor events at the 1956 Games. This time around, the venue will also host the Paralympics closing ceremony.

Bobsled, luge and skeleton are all happening at the new Cortina Sliding Centre, built on the grounds of the historic track used in 1956. It has already been chosen as a competition venue for the 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

The biathlon will take place in the Antholz valley, about 30 miles north of Cortina, near the border with Austria. The Anterselva Biathlon Arena has the largest spectator capacity of any of this year's Olympic venues, set to accommodate up to 19,000 people per session.

Valtellina: Freestyle skiing, snowboarding, ski mountaineering and men's Alpine skiing

Ski slopes and jumps are shown mid-construction in Livigno Snow Park in December, in preparation for the Winter Olympic Games.

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Valtellina Valley is in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland, and is known for its skiing, cheeses and wine. The towns of Bormio and Livigno will host several outdoor events.

Men's Alpine skiing, as well as the new sport of ski mountaineering, are happening in Bormio, a historic ski resort in the Italian Alps. The Stelvio Ski Centre will crown the men's downhill skiing champions and host the one new sport making its Olympic debut this year.

Freestyle skiing and snowboard events will take place at two venues — Livigno Aerials & Moguls Park and Livigno Snow Park — in Livigno, near the border with Switzerland.

Val di Fiemme: Cross-country skiing and ski jumping

A view of the Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium during the Italian Championships Open ski jumping event, held in Predazzo in December.

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Val di Fiemme is a valley in the eastern Trentino province, known for its museums, hiking and cross-country skiing. Olympic events in the cluster are spread across two of its villages, Tesero and Predazzo.

Cross-country skiing and Nordic combined events — as well as Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing — will take place at the renowned Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium, which has nearly 12 miles of trails and one of the bigger spectator capacities, at 15,000. It has been a landmark for cross-country skiing since it hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships in 1991.

Ski jumping competitions and the jumping segment of the Nordic combined events will take place at the renovated Predazzo Ski Jumping Stadium, which has two main competition hills, three smaller training jumps, a new judges' tower and a spectator capacity of 15,000.

Verona: The closing ceremony

The Verona arena will host the 2026 Winter Olympics closing ceremony on Feb. 22.

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The medieval town of Verona, in the Veneto region, is perhaps best known as the setting of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. It will also be the closing site of the 2026 Olympics.

The closing ceremony on Feb. 22 will take place at the Verona Olympic Arena, Italy's third-largest Roman amphitheater, which was built in A.D. 30 to host gladiator battles. In a full-circle moment, the venue will also host the Paralympic opening ceremony on March 6.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Are you taking a domestic flight soon?

You should know: Starting Feb. 1, if you don’t have a REAL ID driver’s license — or another federally approved document like a passport — you’ll need to pay a $45 fee at the airport to be able to get on your flight.

This new fee was announced by the Transportation Security Administration back in December.

Federal REAL ID requirements were originally introduced for domestic air travelers in May 2025. Until now, anyone who lacked a REAL ID license or other acceptable form of identification was still allowed to go through airport security, albeit with additional screening.

But as of Feb. 1, every person 18 or older attempting to board a domestic flight without a REAL ID will face the $45 fee – or won’t be allowed through TSA screening to board their flight.

While TSA says that “more than 94% of passengers already use their REAL ID or other acceptable forms of identification,” in 2025, the California DMV reported that only about 58% of all driver’s license and ID cardholders in the state were REAL ID-compliant.

So if you’re one of those people who doesn’t have a REAL ID yet, here’s what to know about making sure you’re still able to travel, from how to swiftly apply for a REAL ID driver’s license to how to pay the $45 TSA fee, either the day you travel or before you arrive at the airport.

What kind of REAL ID identification do I need to avoid the new $45 TSA fee?

Remember, if you’ve applied for or renewed your driver’s license in the past few years, there’s a good chance you already have a REAL ID. (Here’s more information on how to tell, but in short: look for the golden bear with a white star in the top right of your license.)

If you don’t have a REAL ID driver’s licence yet, you might have access to several other documents you can show TSA instead of a REAL ID, like:

A side-by-side comparison of a REAL ID driver’s license (left) with a non-REAL ID driver’s license.

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• A U.S. or foreign passport
• A green card (permanent resident card)
• A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) trusted traveler card, like Global Entry
• A military ID
• A Tribal Nation ID

See other federally recognized documents that TSA says are an “acceptable alternative” to a REAL ID.

Why will I now be charged a $45 TSA fee?

Since REAL ID requirements were introduced across U.S. airports for domestic flights in May 2025, passengers who don’t have REAL ID-compliant identification have still been able to fly — but they’ve been asked to undergo extra checks to verify their identity before entering the TSA security line, through a process called TSA ConfirmID.

According to TSA, this entails completing “an identity verification process which includes collecting information such as your name and current address to confirm your identity.”

And while TSA says using TSA ConfirmID is “optional,” they warn that if you choose not to use it “and don’t have an acceptable ID, you may not be allowed through security and may miss your flight.”

What’s changing on Feb. 1: TSA now intends to pass on the costs of those extra checks directly to the passenger, by charging them this $45 fee to receive the TSA ConfirmID identity verification and make their flight.

Be warned, though: TSA says even if you pay the new $45 TSA fee starting Feb. 1, “there is no guarantee” they’ll be able to successfully verify your identity through TSA ConfirmID.

A spokesperson for TSA confirmed to KQED by email that the $45 fee is non-refundable in this instance. But because payments are “valid for a 10-day period after their original first flight date,” travelers who miss their flight because their identity couldn’t be verified can “use the receipt once they are able to rebook their flight within that 10-day period,” the spokesperson says.

Where do I pay the $45 TSA fee?

You can pay at the airport itself, or beforehand, but either way, TSA says you have to pay online at pay.gov, the same federal website that processes payments like Department of Veterans Affairs medical bills and Social Security remittances.

You won’t be able to pay TSA staff directly at the airport.

Passengers walk through Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport on Dec. 10, 2025.

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You can create a pay.gov account to make the $45 payment or check out as a guest. TSA says it will accept credit cards, debit cards, bank account details, PayPal and Venmo.

Make sure you enter an email address you have instant access to, as you’ll need to open the pay.gov receipt that will be sent to that inbox and show it to TSA staff at the airport to prove you’ve paid the $45 fee for TSA ConfirmID identity verification.

Will TSA automatically know I’ve paid my $45 fee?

No, TSA says you’ll need to manually show staff in the security line proof of payment by producing the email receipt.

The agency says that your receipt should arrive via email “immediately” after payment. Consider screenshotting the email receipt as soon as you receive it to be sure.

“If a traveler is unable to produce a confirmation email at the checkpoint, you may need to pay again,” TSA says.

If I’m having trouble paying online, can someone else do it for me?

Yes, as long as the name and travel dates match the traveler who needs TSA ConfirmID identity verification, someone else can pay online for you, TSA says. The payment card does not have to match the traveler’s name.

Will I have to pay another $45 TSA fee when I fly home?

TSA says the ConfirmID service is valid for 10 days, so if your trip is 10 days or less, you won’t have to pay again — but “any travel beyond the expiration date will require a new payment.”

However, you’ll need to show your original receipt of payment to pay.gov that arrived in your email when you first paid online, so make sure you don’t delete it on your trip.

How long will all this take?

In general, TSA warns you to expect “increased wait times for passengers who do not provide an acceptable ID.”

For one thing, expect the actual process of verifying your identity through TSA ConfirmID to take a while. Even if you pay the $45 in advance, the actual identity verification will take place at the airport itself.

A person walks to their destination at San Francisco International Airport on Dec. 10, 2025.

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You should also factor in the time required beforehand for paying your $45 online, either before you leave or at the airport itself. And if you don’t have a REAL ID-compliant ID and you haven’t already paid the $45 fee when you arrive for your flight, TSA says that “you must leave the [security] line to pay” and return to the end of the line once you’ve done it.

So, in short, if you don’t have a REAL ID driver’s license or other compatible ID, you should arrive at the airport with a lot of time to spare.

Do the REAL ID requirements and TSA fee apply to children?

TSA says it “does not require children under 18 to provide identification when traveling within the United States” — so the REAL ID requirements, and the TSA fee for those who don’t have them, don’t apply to kids.

However, “unaccompanied minors who are eligible for TSA PreCheck must show an acceptable ID to receive expedited screening,” and the agency suggests you contact the airline you’re flying with about any specific ID requirements they may have for passengers under 18.

OK, how do I get a REAL ID ASAP to avoid this new TSA fee?

Firstly, remember that even if you don’t have a REAL ID driver’s licence yet, you might have access to several other documents you can show TSA instead of a REAL ID — like a U.S. or foreign passport, a green card (permanent resident card) or a Tribal Nation ID — that mean you won’t have to pay the $45 TSA fee starting Feb. 1.

To apply for a REAL ID driver’s license or identification card in California, you’ll need several documents, including one that proves your identity and contains your full name, like a U.S. passport or a permanent resident card (green card).

You’ll need to visit a California DMV office to obtain your REAL ID card, with or without an appointment, but you can upload your documents online in advance to save time in the field office. Check current wait times for your closest California DMV office without an appointment.

According to the REAL ID Act, states must require individuals to prove that they are either U.S. citizens or are in the country “lawfully.”

Non-U.S. citizens who can apply for a REAL ID include permanent residents (green card holders), holders of a valid student or employment visa and recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

If you don’t have any type of legal status, like the ones above, then you will not be able to request a REAL ID.

This story contains reporting from KQED’s Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí.

From Sallie Reeves’ backyard in Rancho Palos Verdes, you can see Catalina Island on a clear day. You can also spot whales in the Pacific Ocean, neighborhood peacocks and red-tailed hawks.

It’s the type of idyllic retirement the 82-year-old envisioned when she moved into her ranch-style home in the Portuguese Bend area in 1982. But she has had to rethink what her retirement looks like after a 6-foot fissure developed through her property. It’s a predicament dozens of Rancho Palos Verdes residents have had to grapple with as their properties also slowly rip apart.

Reeves lives in an area of the city that sits on an ancient landslide. Movement was minimal for decades. But above average rainfall in 2022 and 2023 set off a rapid increase in land movement, which prompted Southern California Edison and SoCalGas to shut off utilities for hundreds of residents, including Reeves.

Her three-bedroom, two-bath home is now a hollowed out shell, raised from the slab on wooden platforms. The only thing that remains intact are some of the walls, beams and floor to ceiling windows. It’s now red tagged as she awaits a FEMA buyout.

“We got snake bit, that’s all,” she said, adding that the damage to some of her neighbors’ homes is much worse.

Reeves has since had to downsize. She now lives in a converted garage, with a modest bathroom, a bedroom and a living space that also doubles as a dining area and kitchen. Her furniture has been distributed to her nieces and nephews, and most of her belongings are in storage, packed into containers parked on her driveway.

“ I can live here a long time. We've got a full bath, and we don't have cupboards or anything, so it's pretty ugly looking at it, but I'm functioning just fine,” she said about her new home.

When things started going from bad to worse

When Reeves moved into her home in the '80s, land movement wasn’t a concern. She used to be able to walk to the bottom of the canyon behind her home. Now, that’s all washed away and it’s a 30-foot drop.

Storms at the end of 2022 leading into 2023 were the turning point.

 ”We just started noticing thresholds coming apart, cracks here and there,” she said.

And pretty soon it wasn’t just a crack in the bedroom wall.

“One night we had animals come in through the walls,” Reeves said, describing how the bedroom wall separated from the home during a storm, “It was like the fire hose was right on our bed.”

There was no room for a washer in Sallie Reeves' converted garage, so she uses it outside.

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In response to wildlife incursions, they decided to convert the garage. It was a 33-day process.

A reluctant buyout applicant 

In 2024, Rancho Palos Verdes announced a buyout program — with the help of federal funds — for residents whose homes were made inhabitable by land movement.

Reeves was a reluctant applicant.

 ”Tearfully, I went to the city and filled out the application on the very last day, down to the last hour,” she said.

She still doesn’t know if she’ll accept the buyout money: Doing so will mean she has to move and the property will be converted to open space.

It could take years before she has to make that decision, so the two-time breast cancer survivor spends some of her time raising money for the disease and enrolling in 60-mile walks across the country to raise awareness for breast cancer. The rest of the time, she tends to her native plants and spends time with her dogs.

Where Sallie Reeves spends time gardening.

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“ I think half the world thinks that I am bat shit crazy, and you gotta be a little that way. But I've been privileged in the sense that I know how valuable this is to me,” Reeves said.