The Brief

Jennifer Lee has been hanging out in Koreatown since she was a kid. Her family would drive up from the suburbs south of Los Angeles to eat at the restaurants or to shop at the Koreatown Plaza, a 3-story mall where the food court features dishes like kimbap and soondae.

K-Town is like its own city within the city of L.A., and that's where Lee suggested meeting All Things Considered for our interview. As we walk down Western Avenue, one of the neighborhood's main thoroughfares, Lee points out a movie theater — where locals can watch mainstream films with Korean subtitles — and the soaring turquoise facade of The Wiltern, an art-deco-style theater.

"It's beautiful, it's so much a part of my childhood, like even my mom knows what The Wiltern is. She doesn't know what happens inside it (though)," she laughs.

Lee, who performs as the electronic artist TOKiMONSTA, has graced the venue's stage several times, but as she gazes at The Wiltern's ornate walls, she says playing there wasn't something she ever imagined as a child.

"When I was younger, I didn't aspire to be a musician. I think growing up in an immigrant family, there was no point in time where being a musician was laid out for me as a possibility."

That unfathomable dream has now become a career that's spanned more than 15 years. Her new album, Eternal Reverie, is her seventh full-length release, and she's put out just as many EPs. Eternal Reverie marks Lee's first album in five years, and she says she deliberately carved out time to make it. She stopped touring. And she tried to recapture her early spirit as a music maker, at a time when she was creating beats without the pressure of album sales, photo shoots and tours.

"One of my fears, once I started doing music full time, is to become resentful of music — the thing I love the most," Lee says. "I felt that feeling of discomfort sort of rising in me, this 'Oh man I got to do this or I have to do that' and not like, 'Oh, I got to make beats today. What a gift.' "

So this album, Lee says, is a celebration of the dreamer she was when she was younger. The dreamer who never imagined playing The Wiltern. The creative spirit who was so excited about what the future held and its endless possibilities.

"You know, life is hard. Life is hard for all of us. But it doesn't mean that little dreamer inside you has to go away."

Lee stands outside of Love Hour in Koreatown.

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Lee has had her share of life challenges over the last decade. In 2015, she was diagnosed with a rare and potentially deadly brain disease called Moyamoya. She had two back-to-back surgeries, just a week apart, in an attempt to save her life. The surgeries were successful, but they left her in severe pain — and for a time — without the ability to walk or perform basic motor functions. She couldn't speak or understand language. When people spoke, she says, it sounded like the characters on Peanuts. Beyond that, she couldn't listen to music — it sounded like metallic, crunchy noise – and she had lost the ability to compose music, too.

"It was hard. We use music as a healing tool," she says. "And at that moment, when I needed music most, I did not have the ability to tap into that. I just sat in noise and silence. I had so much recuperating I had to do."

She slowly regained the ability to understand speech. Then her vocabulary began coming back, but music still felt out of reach. Slowly and gradually, she started to hear melodies again — "flowers appearing in a dead field" and the crunchy sounds she'd been hearing softened into something more musical.

Eventually, she tried opening her laptop again to write music. But she says nothing musical came out — everything sounded harsh and weird.

"I had to then understand that the creation of music is also a different part of my brain that had not been repaired yet," she recalls. "Music is my life. It's my career. I think being able to hear it again was great, but knowing that making it was not in the cards for me was something that was highly discouraging. So I closed my laptop, put it away and decided I will address this later."

A couple of weeks later, she picked up her laptop again. And this time, she ended up with something beautiful: a song titled, "I Wish I Could," which appeared on her 2017 album, Lune Rouge.

"My love letter to my friend"

Just up Western Avenue from The Wiltern, there's a small parking lot ringed by Korean pubs and a soft-serve ice cream shop. Tucked away in the back is a smash burger place called Love Hour, co-owned by Lee's friend Jimmy Han. "He's a tiny bit older than me, so in Korean we'd say he's kind of like 'oppa (older brother),' " she says.

They met around the time Lee's career was just getting started, and when she played Coachella in 2022, he sold a special "TOKiMONSTA meal" at the festival: a Beyond burger with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion and "love sauce," with a side of seasoned curly fries and kimchi cream sauce.

She says her namesake burger had sold out by the time she finished her set that day, but she's had plenty of other opportunities to eat the burgers here. "I had my birthday out on this patio," Lee says. "And I ate like three of them. I am constantly researching his burgers and eating them."

Lee's network of long-lasting friendships comes up a lot during our conversation on that patio — from Han, to the college friend who introduced her to the beatmaking scene in L.A.

But it's another friend, Regina Biondo, who is at the center of the story of her new album, Eternal Reverie.

Lee describes Biondo as more than a close friend – more like a sister, she says. Biondo designed Lee's website, managed some of her tours, and influenced TOKiMONSTA's music, too. Lee recalls the time she played a festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and as they explored the city, Biondo pointed out a guy selling records on the street. One of those records eventually became the vocal sample on the Eternal Reverie track "Corazón / Death By Disco Pt 2."

As Lee was finishing work on the album last year, Biondo learned she had cancer. Then, just months before Lee's album release and scheduled tour, Biondo's cancer worsened and she was admitted to the hospital. Lee canceled the album release and the tour, to be at Biondo's side during her final days in hospice, writing to her fans: "What I'm dealing with right now feels more emotionally taxing and difficult than anything I've faced before, even more so than my journey through Moyamoya brain surgery."

Biondo died in October, at 42, and Lee says she's still very much grieving her friend's death as she launches this album — an album that's infused with Biondo's influence. Lee points to the track "For You."

"I feel like 'For You' is the epitome of what Regina loved in my music," Lee says. "That's the one where I was like, 'This is my love letter to my friend.' And it's been really difficult to go through this release process because I do have to talk about her a lot."

At one point, Lee considered not releasing the album at all, as it was a reminder of a painful year in her life. But Lee says she hopes putting it out into the world will be a journey through grief, learning and self-awareness. And though talking about Biondo has been tougher than she imagined, it's also a way to honor her and share how special she was.

"It's a part of the story of this album and it really sucks to talk about someone that you've lost," Lee says. "And it's also important, because everyone suffers in different ways, but we need to see examples of more people suffering and blossoming."
Copyright 2025 NPR

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Since 1977, Richard Santillan has been to every Opening Day game at Dodger Stadium. 

“The tradition goes from my father, to me, to my children and grandchildren. Some of my best memories are with my father and children here at Dodger Stadium,” Santillan told The LA Local, smiling under the shade of palm trees near the entrance to the ballpark Wednesday morning. He was there to protest the team less than 24 hours before Opening Day.

Santillan, like countless other loyal Dodgers fans, is grappling with his fan identity over the team’s decision to accept an invitation to the White House and owner Mark Walter’s ties to ICE detention facilities.

More than 30 people joined Santillan on Wednesday morning for a press conference held near 1000 Vin Scully Drive to convey a message directly to the team. 

“We are demanding the Dodgers stop participating in funding of inhumane treatment of families and do not go to the White House to celebrate with the criminal in chief,” Evelyn Escatiola told the crowd. “Together, we have the power to make a change.”

Escatiola, a former dean of East Los Angeles College and longtime community organizer, urged fans to flex their economic power by “letting the Dodgers know that we do not support repression.”

Jorge “Coqui” Rodriguez, a lifelong Dodgers fan, spoke to the crowd and called on Dodgers ownership to divest from immigration detention centers owned and operated by GEO Group and CoreCivic.

Jorge Coqui H Rodriguez speaks at a press conference outside Dodger Stadium on March 25, 2026, to demand the Dodgers not to visit the White House following their 2025 World Series win.

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J.W. Hendricks

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The LA Local

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In a phone interview a day before the protest, Rodriguez told The LA Local he did not want the Dodgers using his “cheve” or beer money to fund detention centers. 

“They can’t take our parking money, our cacahuate money, our cheve money, our Dodger Dog money and invest those funds into corporations that are imprisoning people. It’s wrong,” Rodriguez said. 

Rodriguez considers the Dodgers one of the most racially diverse teams and said the players need to support fans at a time when heightened immigration enforcement has become more common across L.A.

The team’s 2025’s visit to the White House drew ire from the largely Latino fan base, citing the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on immigrants. 

In June, the team came under further scrutiny when rumors swirled online that federal immigration agents were using the stadium’s parking, which immigration authorities later denied in statements posted on social media accounts.

The team again came under fire after not releasing a statement on the impacts of ICE raids on its mostly Latino fan base at the height of immigration enforcement last summer. The team later agreed to invest $1 million to support families affected by immigration enforcement.

When he learned the Dodgers were pledging only $1 million to families in need, Rodriguez called the amount a  “slap in the face.” 

“These guys just bought the Lakers for billions of dollars and they give a million dollars to fight for legal services? That’s a joke,” Rodriguez said. “They need to have a moral backbone and not be investing in those companies.”

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, former Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershawsaid last week that he is looking forward to the trip.

“I went when President [Joe] Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President [Donald] Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”

The Dodgers have yet to announce when their planned visit will take place. 

Santillan sometimes laments his decision to give up his season tickets in protest of the team. His connection to the stadium and the memories he has made there with family and friends will last a lifetime, he said. On Thursday, he will uphold his tradition and be there for the first pitch of the season, but with a heavy heart.

“It’s a family tradition, but the Dodgers have a lot of work to do,” he said.

A local favorite mom-and-pop bookshop in Eagle Rock is facing displacement due to a steep rent hike. The owners say theirs is just one of several small businesses along Eagle Rock Boulevard struggling to keep up with lease increases.

Over the past 19 years, many in the neighborhood have come to love READ Books for its eclectic collection of used titles and shop dog Florence.

Co-owner Jeremy Kaplan said it’s been a delight to grow with the community over the years.

“Like seeing kids come back in, who were in grade school and now they’re in college,” Kaplan said.

But the building where Kaplan and wife Debbie rent was recently sold, and the rent increased by more than 130% to $2,805 a month, Kaplan said. He told LAist it was an increase his small business simply could not absorb.

Kaplan said he originally was given 30 days notice of the rent increase. After some research, assistance from Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s office and some pro-bono legal help, Kaplan said he pushed back and got the 90-day notice he’s afforded by state law.

California Senate Bill 1103 requires landlords to give businesses with five or less employees 90 days’ notice for rent increases exceeding 10%, among other protections.

Systems Real Estate, the property management company, did not immediately respond to LAist’s request for comment.

What can small businesses do? 

Nadia Segura, directing attorney of the Small Business Program at pro bono legal aid non-profit Bet Tzedek said California law does not currently allow for rent control for commercial tenancies.

Outside of the protections under SB 1103, Segura said small businesses like READ Books don’t have much other recourse. And even then, commercial landlords are not required to inform their tenants of their protections under the law.

“There’s still a lot of people that don’t know about SB 1103. And then it’s very sad that they tell them they have these rent increases and within a month they have to leave,” Segura said.

She said her group is seeing steep rent hikes like this for commercial tenants across the city.

“We are seeing this even more with the World Cup coming up, the Olympics coming up. And I will say it was very sad to see that also after the wildfires,” Segura said.

Part of Bet Tzedek’s ongoing work is to advocate for small businesses, working with landlords who are increasing rents to see if they are willing to give business owners longer leases that lock in rents.

What’s next 

After READ Books posted about their situation on social media, commenters chimed in to express their outrage and love for the little shop.

While he looks for a new spot, Kaplan says he’s forming a coalition of local businesses and activist groups to see what can be done to help other small businesses facing similar displacement. He wants to address the displacement issue for businesses like his, which have made Eagle Rock the distinctive neighborhood that it is today.

Owl Talk, a longtime Eagle Rock staple selling clothing and accessories in a unit in the same building as READ Books, is facing a “more than double” rent increase, according to a post on their Instagram account.

Kaplan said he’s been in touch with the office of state Assemblywoman Jessica Caloza and wants to explore the possibility of introducing legislation to set up protections for small businesses like his, including rent-control measures or a vacancy tax for landlords. Kaplan said he also reached out to the office of state Sen. Maria Durazo.

By his count, Kaplan said there are about a dozen businesses within surrounding blocks that are at risk of closing their doors or have shuttered due to rent increases or other struggles.

When READ Books was founded during the Great Recession, Kaplan said he knew it was a longshot to open a bookstore at the same time so many were struggling to stay in business.

“It was kind of interesting to be doing something that neighborhoods needed. That was important to me growing up, that was important to my children, that was important to my wife growing up,” Kaplan said.

“And then somebody comes in and says, ‘We’re gonna over double your rent.”

Topline:

Frozen budget: Most of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting budget comes from an assessment that people who own property illuminated by lights pay on their county property tax bill. The amount people pay depends on the kind of property they own and how much they benefit from lighting. A typical single-family home currently pays $53 annually, and in total, the assessments bring in about $45 million annually for the city to repair and maintain streetlights. Changing the amount the Bureau of Street Lighting gets from the assessment requires a vote among property owners who benefit from the lights.

Ballots: L.A. City Council’s vote gives city staff the green light to prepare and send out those ballots. Miguel Sangalang, who oversees the bureau, said at a committee meeting earlier this month that he expects to send out ballots by April 17. Notices about the ballots will be sent out prior to the ballots themselves.

Near unanimous vote: L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez was the only “No” vote Tuesday, saying she wanted to see a more current strategic plan for the bureau. Sangalang said the bureau developed a plan in 2022 that lays out how money will be spent. Councilmember Imelda Padilla was absent for the vote.

Vote count: Votes will be weighted according to the assessment amount. Basically, the more you’re asked to pay yearly to maintain streetlights, the more your vote will count. Ballots received before June 2 will be tabulated by the L.A. City Clerk.

How much more money: According to a report, the amount needed in assessments from property owners to meet the repair and maintenance needs of the city’s streetlighting in the next fiscal year is nearly $112 million.

Use of the money: Sangalang said at a March 11 committee meeting that the extra funds would be used to double the number of staff to handle repairs and procure solar streetlights, which don’t face the threat of copper wire theft. That would all potentially reduce the time it takes to repair simple fixes down to a week. Currently, city residents wait for months to see broken streetlights repaired. The assessment would come with a three-year auditing mechanism.