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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • 'Oppenheimer' dominates Screen Actors Guild Awards
    A room with a lot of people sitting down and a stage. The stage is filled with people in one corner. On a giant TV screen, it says "Cast in a Motion Picture"
    Cast in a Motion Picture award for 'Oppenheimer' onstage during the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 24, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

    Topline:

    Christopher Nolan's biopic "Oppenheimer" dominated at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on Saturday, where several winners paid tribute to last year's actors' strike.

    Another big winner: "Killers of the Flower Moon" star Lily Gladstone was named best leading actress, and also spoke about the strike.

    Why it matters: The SAG awards are often seen as a good prediction of who will win at the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 10.

    Christopher Nolan's biopic "Oppenheimer" dominated at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on Saturday, where several winners paid tribute to last year's actors' strike. Cillian Murphy won best actor, Robert Downey Jr was awarded best supporting actor, and the "Oppenheimer" ensemble won outstanding performance by a cast.

    Speaking at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Irish star Murphy said he was proud to be given the award by his fellow professionals. He said: "Twenty-eight years ago when I was trying to become an actor, I was a failed musician, and I felt extremely like an interloper. But looking out on all of you guys here today, I know I'm part of something truly wonderful." "Oppenheimer" tells the life story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man who is often called "the father of the atomic bomb".

    Accepting the outstanding cast prize, British actor Sir Kenneth Branagh commended the actors' union strike, which delayed many projects in Hollywood last year. "Thank you for fighting for us, thank you for every Sag-Aftra member whose support and whose sacrifice allows us to be standing here better than we were before" he said.

    A woman with black long hair and big ear-rings in a red dress holding an award tropy.
    Lily Gladstone accepts the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role award for “Killers of the Flower Moon” onstage during the 30th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 24, 2024 in Los Angeles.
    (
    Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
    /
    Getty Images North America
    )

    "Killers of the Flower Moon" star Lily Gladstone was named best leading actress, and also spoke about the strike. "This has been a hard year for all of us" Gladstone said in her speech. "I'm so proud that we have gotten here in solidarity with all of our other unions."

    The SAG awards are often seen as a good prediction of who will win at the Academy Awards, which will be held on March 10. While Murphy is the favourite to win best actor, the best actress race is closer. Gladstone is a frontrunner, but she is up against "Poor Things" star Emma Stone for the award.

    "The Holdovers" star Da'Vine Joy Randolph won best supporting actress, and "Oppenheimer's" Robert Downey Jr was named best supporting actor. In television, "Succession" won best ensemble drama cast for its fourth and final season, while "The Bear" was named best ensemble comedy cast.

    Barbra Streisand was awarded this year's lifetime achievement prize, presented by Jennifer Aniston and Bradley Cooper. Recalling her youth, Streisand said: "I didn't like reality, I wanted to be in movies. Even though I knew I didn't look like the other women on screen. My mother said 'you'd better learn to type'. But I didn't listen. And somehow, some way, it all came true."

    Tributes were paid to Matthew Perry, Harry Belafonte, Sir Michael Gambon, Tina Turner, Angus Cloud, Glenda Jackson, Alan Arkin, Julian Sands, Lance Reddick, Lee Sun-kyun, Tom Wilkinson, Andre Braugher and Chita Rivera during the show's In Memoriam segment.

    "The Devil Wears Prada" stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt reunited to present the first award of the night, performing a sketch featuring several of their movie's most famous lines, almost 20 years since it was released.

    London-born actor Idris Elba presented the ceremony, the 30th SAG awards, which were streamed on Netflix for the first time. "Personally, I can't wait to get home, and have Netflix recommend this show to me" he joked.

    Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.

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  • A guide to LA and OC's many voter guides
    Illustration shows a diverse group of people voting.
    Need even more information before you vote? We can help with that.
    We're pretty proud of LAist's Voter Game Plan — it's a nonpartisan guide to elections in Los Angeles County and in Orange County that lays out the information you need to understand the positions and issues on the ballot and then evaluate your choices to make sure they align with your values and beliefs. What we don't do is tell you how to vote.

    Why this matters: LAist doesn't endorse candidates but we know it can also be helpful to look to organizations or individuals that you trust to see where they stand on a particular candidate or initiative, and use those endorsements as a guide for filling out your ballot. So we put together this evolving guide to L.A.'s and O.C.'s many voting guides. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But it’s a good place to start if you are looking for recommendations, or just more insight into the races.

    Read on ... ‘Cause the Nov. 3 ballot is long! Voting guides can help.

    As the Nov. 3 election draws closer, many of us have yet to vote. Why? ‘Cause the ballot is long! Voting guides can help.

    LAist has one: Our Voter Game Plan is a nonpartisan guide to elections in Los Angeles County and in Orange County that lays out the information you need to understand the positions and issues on the ballot and then evaluate your choices to make sure they align with your values and beliefs.

    What we don't do is tell you how to vote.

    That said, we know it can also be helpful to look to organizations or individuals that you trust to see where they stand on a particular candidate or initiative, and use those endorsements as a guide for filling out your ballot.

    That’s where this evolving guide to L.A.'s and O.C.'s many voting guides comes in. This is by no means an exhaustive list. But it’s a good place to start. To keep things simple, we have divided this list into four broad categories including guides that lean left — as Los Angeles and California overwhelmingly do — as well as guides that lean right, guides from the top political parties, and guides from news organizations. If we missed a guide that you think would be helpful to share here, please email us and we might include it:

    Voter guides that lean to the left

    This lists starts with organization local to L.A.:

    East Area Progressive Democrats

    The EAPD meets every month at a coffee house in Eagle Rock and started in late 2013 to fight for more progressive representation. With more than 1,100 members, they call themselves the largest Democratic club in L.A. County and California. EAPD says its top issues include housing for all, dignity for workers and universal healthcare. The group is led by Hans Johnson, an organizer who specializes in coalition strategy and environmental activism. Their endorsements are short and to the point.

    Knock LA

    Knock LA started as a Medium blog in 2017 when members of Ground Game LA, a grassroots community organizing group, decided to start their own news outlet for alt-weekly style coverage of the topics they cared most about, including police misconduct, labor abuse and the housing crisis. They are a self-described horizontally organized publication, meaning they try to make all major decisions by group consensus, and they don’t accept funding from advertisers or “any source that may influence [their] coverage.” The Knock team writes that their voter guide is a “labor of love for a better Los Angeles.” If you feel strongly about “building and preserving affordable housing, stopping planet-destroying emissions, reimagining public safety and getting people off the streets and sustainably into shelter and housing,” this is your guide.

    La Defensa

    This group describes themselves as “femme-led and abolitionist.” They are also affiliated with The La Defensa Justice PAC, which is dedicated to supporting progressive judicial candidates for L.A. County’s Superior Court. The group is led by mostly women of color who are immigration and social-justice minded. Their guide is a detailed one with candidates tagged with a hearty "endorsed," a more tempered "recommended," or a "harm reduction" label, which indicates that while the candidate doesn't earn the group’s endorsement, they are seen as the best alternative. La Defensa also outlines their “vetting criteria” for individual candidates, explaining what factors they considered while determining endorsement.

    L.A. Forward

    L.A. Forward is a political organizing group working to grow and support a progressive base in almost every L.A. City Council District. Their guide breaks down the races and offers up details about why a particular candidate has earned their endorsement. L.A. Forward hosts a Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy to recruit and train a diverse cohort of Los Angeles County residents to be the next generation of candidates and campaign staffers, along with a Judicial Leadership Academy that helps social justice-oriented attorneys run for seats as Los Angeles County Superior Court judges.

    Leyla’s Extremely Opinionated 2026 General Election Voter Guide

    Leyla Farah is a self-described political junkie, tech nerd, travel addict and author of the book Black, Gifted and Gay. Her guide is on Medium and is delivered with a healthy dose of cynicism. It includes personal recommendations sprinkled with fun little disclaimers like “Our political system is a giant turducken” and "All candidate qualifications being equal, I’ll pick the non-white, non-guy, non-cis, non-straight (you get where I’m going with this) candidate every time."

    California Working Families Party

    This one is a little different in that it’s a political party that sometimes runs its own candidates through Democratic Party primaries or on their own. The California Working Families Party was founded in 1998 by a coalition of labor unions. They describe themselves on X as “a progressive grassroots political party building a multiracial, feminist movement of working people to transform America.” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called the party “the closest thing to socialism” in 2016, although they officially endorsed U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren when she ran for president in 2020. Their endorsements are straightforward, and include candidates up and down the state, so you'll need to sift through a bit to find Los Angeles. They also cover races in several other states, including Arizona, Colorado and Texas.

    Courage California

    A nonprofit organization with over a million members, according to their website, Courage California’s mission is to “defend and extend economic justice, human rights and corporate and political accountability.” Their “Know Your Vote” downloadable guide outlines the big-picture impact of each race and which California organizations support or oppose each proposition. Courage California also publishes the highly detailed Progressive Voter Guide, in which they “combine the endorsements of California’s leading progressive organizations with our expert knowledge and research” to provide recommendations for races at the local level too.

    American Civil Liberties Union

    The ACLU has long been recognized for supporting big-picture issues like criminal justice reform, immigrant rights and reproductive freedom. The Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union has published a voter guide to propositions on this fall’s ballot.

    While ACLU SoCal’s guide doesn’t get into individual candidate races, the organization’s nonpartisan political arm, ACLU California Action, does. They’ve published the survey results of a questionnaire submitted to candidates running for California Senate, Assembly, and two U.S. Congressional districts. The questions posed to candidates were answered with either “yes,” “no” or “no reply.” They’re intended to illuminate candidate viewpoints on larger issues like LGBTQ+ rights, homelessness and ICE activity.

    Planned Parenthood Action Fund  

    The political arm of Planned Parenthood bills itself as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization involved in grassroots organizing, education campaigns and electioneering. Their mission is in line with Planned Parenthood writ large, according to their about page: “to improve the quality and affordability of reproductive and sexual health care, protect and expand services that prevent unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease and ensure continued access to safe, legal and confidential abortion care.” Accordingly, their 2026 voter guide endorses candidates based on their stance on family planning and women's health. The national nonprofit endorses candidates for U.S. Congress, while the Los Angeles County contingent outlines who they support in local and state races.

    Voter guides that lean to the right

    Nancy's Picks

    Conservative Republican Nancy Sandoval says her guide aims to help the busy conservative voter who doesn't have the time to do the research, but cares about voting in alignment with their conservative convictions, especially on lesser known items. Each election, she goes deep on all offices and propositions for all of Orange County's city and county races.

    Here is her 2026 midterm election guide. She bases her criteria on conservative convictions including securing and sealing the nation's borders, parental rights in education and supporting an "America First" agenda. Sandoval explains her extensive methodology here: "The selections are made from group forums, personal knowledge, interviews, on-line research, questionnaires sent, various outside vote guides, candidate endorsements, voting records, candidate statements, testimonies of reliable secondary sources, and various news media. I also verify the amount of money a candidate has to run an effective campaign."

    Election Forum

    This is a guide for evangelical Christians who say they're fighting for conservative values locally. Election Forum is a national nonprofit with wings in Los Angeles and Nashville, led by conservative political commentator and author Craig Huey.

    Their guide “will help you cut through the rhetoric, election propaganda and biased media coverage of the campaigns” by evaluating candidates based on their views on crime, government spending and the Bible, according to the group’s website. For access to their California guide, Election Forum requires you first register with your name, email and ZIP code.

    Reform California

    Assemblymember Carl DeMaio leads this group with the goal of “taking back our state from far-Left politicians and special interests.” DeMaio currently represents north and east San Diego County in the California Assembly's 75th District. He’s also served one term on the San Diego City Council, hosts a conservative news radio show and is an enthusiastic supporter of President Donald Trump.

    Beyond that, he is playing a huge role in the Nov. 3 general election: DeMaio is the architect behind Proposition 39, the voter ID initiative. You can hear more about DeMaio's campaign here on the LAist podcast, Imperfect Paradise:

    Listen 28:46
    California Prop 39: What the voter ID measure may change & where it fits in the national battle

    Reform California believes that the Democratic Party's domination in California has become extremist and ineffective. According to Reform, their “Plain English,” all-state Voter Guide supports “the most principled reform-minded candidates” and “provides an easy-to-understand truthful description of deceptive ballot measures that politicians put on the ballot.” The organization also provides county-specific endorsements. Here's the guide for Los Angeles County. Here's the guide for Orange County.

    Christian Voter Guide

    This voter guide is national in scope but does include a guide to voting in local Orange County elections, including races in the Irvine Unified School District, Orange Unified School District and North Orange County Community College District.

    The guide breaks down candidate answers to six questions, including their stance on removing books with explicit sexual content from schools and public libraries and whether individuals should be allowed to access school restrooms based on their gender expression.

    Voter guides from political parties

    Los Angeles County and Orange County Democratic Party

    The L.A. County Democratic Party describes itself as the largest and most influential local Democratic Party in the country. This local chapter of the Democratic party is run by seven elected members who are chosen from each state Assembly district of Los Angeles County during presidential primaries — and serve as the official governing body of the LACDP.

    The slate of endorsements go deep, including federal, state and local Los Angeles races. You can find the Orange County Democratic Party Statewide Endorsements here, and their guide to Orange County elections here.

    Democratic Socialists of Los Angeles

    The local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, is endorsing nine candidates this election cycle, including Nithya Raman, who is hoping to make the jump from Los Angeles City Council member to mayor. The party identifies as “a team of union leaders, renters, tenant organizers, parents, and activists who are committed to working class values and ready to create real change across Los Angeles.”

    The DSALA supports a “multiracial working class” and reforms like Medicare for All, defunding the police and the Green New Deal. They say they aren’t a political party or a nonprofit, but rather “a socialist organization,” according to their website.

    The Republican Party of L.A. County and the Republican Party of Orange County

    The L.A. GOP is chaired by Roxanne Hoge, an actor and business owner who unsuccessfully ran for a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors seat in 2022. "With over 1 million Republicans registered, Los Angeles County is the largest Republican county party in the USA," its website says. Here's the L.A. GOP's guide to the upcoming election and it's goal: "We need you here to stop incompetent one-party rule. We want to connect you with the fellow Angelenos who want good governance and who believe in individual liberty."

    The Republican Party of Orange County has published its 2026 General Election voter guide here. The chair of the O.C. GOP is William O’Neill, an attorney who has served on the Newport Beach City Council and as mayor. Here's why this election matters, O’Neill says in a statement on the O.C. GOP’s website: “What we do here in Orange County ripples throughout our state and our nation. We are a beacon of hope, safety, security, and freedom. We are the counterexample to the lawlessness and policy abuses inflicted by Democratic elected officials in Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Join us!”

    Voter guides from news organizations

    CalMatters 

    Self-described as, “the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California politics and policy,” CalMatters’ voter guide is exhaustive. It has categories for state offices, the Legislature, and propositions, and includes side-by-side comparisons of candidate campaign finance. This voter guide also includes incredibly accessible explanations of individual propositions and the reasons to support or oppose each measure. One standout feature of CalMatters’ guide is the “proposition quizzes”; it's an interactive series of questions that helps you “weigh your thoughts on each ballot measure to figure out how to vote.”

    Los Angeles Times

    The Los Angeles Times got out of the endorsement game after its owner spiked the editorial board's presidential endorsement in 2024, leading several staff members to resign in protest. As it has for many years, though, the paper's news staff produces thorough, non-endorsement-style guides to statewide and local elections. The outlet's guide can be found here.

    The Orange County Register

    The Register's Voter Guide goes deep on Orange County candidates as well as candidates whose districts straddle Los Angeles. It also publishes in-depth looks at races and measures that cut across the state. This one leans more “guide” and less “endorsement” in that each candidate is offered the chance to fill out a questionnaire where they answer questions about “housing policy, the state's role in working with or against the federal government on issues impacting Californians, what's next for disaster relief efforts, among other important topics.”

    The LAist guide to voter guides was first published in 2024 and written by journalist Gina Pollack, and has since been updated. LAist's Rene Lynch also contributed to this report. If you have a voter guide you think should be included here, email us a link to the guide, with a brief explanation about why you believe LAist readers will find it helpful.

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  • CA workers about to strike, what that means
    People stand in front of a counter speaking with workers at the DMV as others sit and wait.
    People stand at the counter of the Department of Motor Vehicles in Fresno on Oct. 2, 2026.

    Topline:

    Tens of thousands of state government workers are expected to walk off the job Wednesday in a one-day strike that could affect services at the DMV, unemployment offices and more.

    Why now: Members of SEIU Local 1000 are protesting what they argue are bad-faith bargaining practices by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. The union has been negotiating a new labor agreement since its latest three-year contract expired on June 30, and the strike would be Local 1000’s first statewide walkout in its 44-year history.

    Why it matters: The union represents about 100,000 public workers, with members employed in dozens of agencies across California. They’re accountants, government analysts, nurses, IT workers, custodians and more. Local 1000 could call off the work stoppage at any time leading up to Wednesday.

    Read on... for more on what this means for the DMV, EDD, parks and more.

    Tens of thousands of state government workers are expected to walk off the job Wednesday in a one-day strike that could affect services at the DMV, unemployment offices and more.

    Members of SEIU Local 1000 are protesting what they argue are bad-faith bargaining practices by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. The union has been negotiating a new labor agreement since its latest three-year contract expired on June 30, and the strike would be Local 1000’s first statewide walkout in its 44-year history.

    The union represents about 100,000 public workers, with members employed in dozens of agencies across California. They’re accountants, government analysts, nurses, IT workers, custodians and more.

    Local 1000 could call off the work stoppage at any time leading up to Wednesday. But if it happens, here’s how the strike could affect you.

    Can I still go to the DMV

    Yes, you can, but services could be delayed depending on who is participating in the strike. DMV offices might close early, too, a department spokesperson said. The same holds for other public-facing services, including unemployment benefits at the Employment Development Department and food assistance at CalFresh.

    State parks could be affected, too, even though rangers are not represented by Local 1000. Hearst Castle in San Luis Obispo County, for instance, adjusted its tour schedule to accommodate people who’ve already reserved spots to see the newspaper magnate’s estate.

    This may not be ideal from a customer service standpoint, but union president Anica Walls urges Californians “to give our employees some grace.”

    “If you happen to go to the DMV office and the services are limited, make an appointment for another day,” Walls said. “Realize that we are standing up for 100,000 state workers who have not had a good living wage. … It’s not just about state employees. It really is about the working class.”

    Which state workers can't strike?

    Local 1000 represents almost half of the state’s workforce, and 95,000 workers would be able to participate in the strike. The remaining 5,000 workers are legally excluded from the strike, because their absence “would create an imminent and substantial threat to public health or safety,” according to the union. In general, they work in healthcare or public safety.

    Eight state agencies and divisions employ workers who are deemed essential. These include workers such as veterans homes nurses, cooks at state prisons, Caltrans dispatchers and others:

    • Department of Veterans Affairs
    • Correctional Health Care Services
    • Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
    • Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations
    • Department of Education
    • Department of Developmental Services
    • Department of State Hospitals
    • Caltrans

    To see which employees at which worksites are deemed essential, check out this list.

    How did we get here?

    Many state workers are frustrated with Newsom, who has demanded wage cuts to help balance the budget in three of the eight years he’s led the state. These cuts essentially negated the last 3% salary increase he gave Local 1000 members.

    Pointing to a $20 billion increase in general fund spending over the past two years, the union wants better pay and more affordable healthcare coverage than the administration has offered. It also wants more flexibility to work from home, pushing back against the governor’s return-to-office mandate for state workers.

    But talks have been contentious. In July, the union filed a complaint with the state’s Public Employment Relations Board, accusing CalHR, the state agency that handles labor negotiations, of delaying negotiations and rejecting proposals outright. Last month the labor board sided with the union and concluded that CalHR “refused to meet and confer in good faith.”

    Earlier this month, union members authorized the strike. Local 1000 members will hold demonstrations in more than a dozen cities, including Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento, where members will also hold a march to lawmakers’ offices near the Capitol.

    How has the Newsom administration responded?

    In response to the labor board’s findings, Angela Musallam, CalHR’s deputy director of communications, said in an email to CalMatters that “the state has been and remains open to negotiation” She added that the state “is prepared to move into mediation to assist the parties in reaching an agreement.”

    CalHR also filed an unfair practice complaint of its own to the board in an effort to stop the strike. CalHR claimed that the strike was unlawful because the union did not initially identify which essential workers would be excluded from the walkout. The union disagreed with CalHR’s interpretation of events, arguing that it did identify these employees. The board sided with the union last week, rejecting CalHR’s request for an injunction.

    Could there be another strike?

    Both parties are scheduled to meet for mediation talks on Oct. 30. For now the union is planning to only strike on Wednesday, but Walls said that if the Newsom administration continues to engage in bad-faith bargaining, the union will “escalate” its actions. This could include filing another complaint with the labor board, and potentially holding another strike.

    This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

  • LA County employee alleges retaliation
    A man and a woman hold hands while wearing masks and walking down a street surrounded by burn damage and fires.
    Altadena residents walk through the smoke and debris of the Eaton Fire in January 2025.

    Topline:

    An employee of L.A. County’s Office of Emergency Management has sued his employer, alleging he was retaliated against for making whistleblower complaints about the response to the deadly Eaton Fire.

    Why it matters: Nicholas Vaquero, an associate director in the Office of Emergency Management, alleges that officials leading the county office failed to properly staff the response to the fire, that the county’s emergency alerts were inadequate and that it submitted fraudulent data in order to receive FEMA reimbursement.

    The background: LAist previously reported on the whistleblower complaint, which contained the allegation that a key county employee was asleep on the job during the first night of the Eaton Fire.

    The county's response: A spokesperson said the county would respond to the lawsuit in court.

    Read on ... for more details on the lawsuit filed earlier this month.

    An employee of Los Angeles County’s Office of Emergency Management has sued his employer, alleging he was retaliated against for making whistleblower complaints about the response to the deadly Eaton Fire.

    Nicholas Vaquero, an associate director in the Office of Emergency Management, alleges that officials leading the office failed to properly staff the response to the fire, which killed at least 19 people and burned thousands of homes and businesses in January 2025.

    He also alleges the county’s emergency alerts were inadequate and that it submitted fraudulent data in order to receive FEMA reimbursement. Vaquero says in the suit that he used official county whistleblower channels to raise his concerns, in addition to speaking to OEM’s top two officials, Director Kevin McGowan and Deputy Director Leslie Luke.

    Vaquero’s lawyers and the county declined to comment on the substance of the lawsuit. “L.A. County is going to address the allegations in court,” spokesperson Elizabeth Marcellino wrote in a statement to LAist.

    LAist previously reported on Vaquero’s whistleblower complaint, in which he alleged that a now-retired employee with “a long history of sleeping on the job” was put in charge of emergency workers sending evacuation alerts and was asleep during critical moments of the first night of the Eaton Fire, when many of the deaths and much of the devastation occurred. County officials deny this account.

    In the lawsuit, Vaquero alleges he has faced retaliation after raising his concerns, including being excluded from meetings he previously was a part of and being treated with hostility by the department’s leadership, among other things.

    The complaint comes after county leadership launched a three-year restructuring of the Office of Emergency Management, which includes working to add staff and to conduct regular training for all staff on emergency alert software.

    An after-action report from the McChrystal Group highlighted that the emergency management office was severely short-staffed during the fire. The department, which serves 10 million people, had a staff of 37 people at the time the fires broke out. Meanwhile, New York City has a population of 8.5 million and an emergency management staff of about 200 people, the report noted.

  • Pasadena's Healing Force looking for new home
    A group of people sit around a stage of musicians set up in a record store, some standing and others sitting on chairs, a sofa and the floor.
    L.A. band Phi-Psonics as they performed during a 2024 residency at Healing Force of the Universe.
    Topline:
    Pasadena record store and venue Healing Force of the Universe, a destination for local musicians and music fans, is fundraising to move to a bigger space.
    About the space: Healing Force sells records, of course, but these days it’s more of a nighttime performance space. Owner Austin Manuel said he wants people to feel comfortable striking up conversations with each other after a show.

    The performances: The shows Healing Force puts on are all kinds of genres, but they share a common thread. They’re often meant to promote peace and relaxation, as well as deep, careful listening on the hi-fi sound system.

    What's next: Its current location is set to close this month, but Manuel and his team are already raising funds to cover a move to another space: G-Son Studios in Atwater Village. The repurposed ballroom was the home base for the Beastie Boys when they recorded their classic albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication.

    See the Pasadena space before it closes: The venue is still open at 1200 E. Walnut Street and is holding events through this Halloween weekend. You can see their calendar of events on their website.

    For the last three years, the record store and music venue Healing Force of the Universe has been operating on a sleepy street corner not far from Pasadena City College. Nearby businesses include a shoe repair store, a nail salon and several auto shops.

    “We're kind of in a dead corner,” owner Austin Manuel said. “No offense if anybody lives here, but not a very foot-trafficked area, kind of a hard place to have a store.”

    In spite of the location, Manuel said Healing Force has become a home away from home for musicians and music fans. One of them is Bobby Bradford, a jazz trumpet legend who lost his house and personal archive in the Eaton Fire. He performs regularly at the venue. (Healing Force has also partnered with LAist on fire recovery events.)

    Its current location is set to close this month, but Manuel and his team are already raising funds to cover a move to another space: G-Son Studios in Atwater Village. The repurposed ballroom was the Beastie Boys' home base when they recorded their classic albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Run-DMC and Biz Markie stopped by at one point, and Beck also laid down tracks for his album Odelay there.

    Interior of a record shop with vinyl albums displayed on the back wall and in wooden bins, a small round table with two leather chairs in the foreground, and large windows with blue curtains along the right side.
    Inside Healing Force's space in Pasadena.
    (
    Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
    )

    The vibe

    Healing Force sells records, of course, but these days it’s more of a nighttime performance space. Manuel said he wants people to feel comfortable striking up conversations after a show.

    “I grew up in the church in the South, and I was like, ‘How do I design this so that it feels like a Southern church lady could come in here and feel welcome?’" Manuel said. “ I didn't want it to be too cool.  I wanted it to feel kind of suburban in a way.”

    Though the name might call to mind a cult slogan — and Manuel said they lean into that aesthetic on purpose — it’s actually a reference to the 1970 album Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe by saxophonist Albert Ayler.

    At the venue, “people can kind of get … into a meditative zone,” Manuel said. “After the [January 2025] fires, it felt so good to come back together in this room and feel the healing of community.”

    An empty stage with a piano, an organ, an amplifier and several mic stands.
    Healing Force's stage setup.
    (
    Kevin Tidmarsh/LAist
    )

    The performances

    The shows Healing Force puts on share a common thread: They’re meant to promote peace and relaxation, as well as deep, careful listening on the hi-fi sound system. But they’re an eclectic mix of genres. On one night, you might see L.A. spiritual jazz band Phi-Psonics, who turned a residency at the venue into a live album, Expanding to One.

    On another night, you might catch a spaced-out electronic set, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter or a group of session musicians who’ve played with the likes of Paul Simon, Elton John and Lucinda Williams.

    About the fundraiser

    With the new space on Glendale Boulevard, Manuel said, Healing Force would triple its capacity for concerts, get a bar space and be closer to other venues in Northeast L.A.

    “If 1,000 people gave $25, we would get there,” Manuel said – though he also said most people have been giving more.

    You can read more about the fundraiser and donate at Healing Force’s GoFundMe.

    See the Pasadena space before it closes

    The venue is still open at 1200 E. Walnut Street and is holding events through this Halloween weekend. You can see their events calendar on their website.