The Brief

Glasgow native and Travis frontman Fran Healy, like so many of us, has a complicated relationship with Los Angeles.

On Travis’ latest album, 2024's L.A. Times, Healy has some choice words about our fair city in the title track.

“I use the f-word possibly more times even than any rap record that’s ever been made,” Healy said. “I was venting. I was venting about L.A. and about my experience. And it’s my truth; I can’t lie. You shouldn’t lie in songs; it’s the only place you get to be as honest as you can ever be.”

But those notions were challenged when fires ripped through the Palisades and Altadena a few weeks ago, giving everyone — and Healy himself — pause and more appreciation for the people of L.A. He and the band have made L.A. home for the past eight years.

“What blew me away, was these fires — while absolutely atrocious — I've never seen an outpouring [of support like that], of ‘What can we do?’ ‘How can we help anywhere?’” Healy said. “I've seen a different side of L.A.”

Travis' members have been vocal on social media about raising money and awareness for victims of the L.A. fires, asking fans to support a variety of charitable organizations.

“Humans want interaction and it's very difficult to do that when you're stuck in your car on the 405 every day," he said. "I wouldn't say I'm a Los Angeleno, I'm a Glaswegian, but for this Scottish guy to look and see just, wow, how everyone's just stepped up. It's beautiful.”

The album L.A. Times isn’t a nod to our newspaper friends down the road, rather it’s a play on an idea Healy came up with over 30 years ago in Glasgow, when he recorded an Evening Times seller on Argyle Street who called out “final times” to passersby.

“He would almost sing it like he was telling us the end of the world was coming or something," he said. "And I recorded him one day in 1990 on my little dictaphone … and then put it on a mixtape for friends and called the mixtape 'Final Times' and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a brilliant title.’’

L.A. Times as an album is an homage to that moment, a reflection on Los Angeles, and takes on the difficulties of finding your people, temptation, and the notion of what is home. Famous friends like The Killers' Brandon Flowers and Coldplay’s Chris Martin (whom you could argue owes some of his band’s mega-success to the path paved by Travis), show up on the track “Raze the Bar,” an anthem for a favorite bar that closed down.

“I don’t know musically where Travis are going to go, ever,” Healy said. “The one pre-requisite for a song to sort of continue and to get to a point where it might be considered for a record is: is it about something? Is it the truth? And does it have a good melody?”

Before heading out on their first tour in the U.S. in 14 years, Travis released a new song, “Avalon,” a sea shanty-style ode to Southern California. Healy wrote the song after buying a small boat in Marina del Rey to have a place to write, away from construction noise near his house. Sea lion barks aside, the sea and Catalina Island were inspirational.

Fran Healy performs with his band Travis during day one of the TRNSMT Festival 2024 at Glasgow Green on July 12, 2024.

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Jeff J Mitchell

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“This song is going to go down big with the sailors,” Healy joked. “It became this sort of Odyssey type of thing, like your Avalon is this mystical place that you're trying to get to; you can't quite get to it. And then using it as a sort of allegory of our career as a band, you're out there and you get sort of lost in the sea, and then you're trying to aim for this destination. Eventually, you realize that it's not about the destination, it's about the journey; Avalon is the journey.”

Only a few other musicians can say they’ve been on a journey in a band with the same lineup for over 28 years — U2, Radiohead, and fellow Scot-turned-Angeleno Shirley Manson’s Garbage come to mind.

Healy said the magic is their friendship, which is palpable on stage. The rule is “never ever break the sanctity of the band,” he added. “When you come and see a band like us you’re seeing live music but you’re also seeing, for want of a better term, live friendship. I know it’s totally genuine. We hang out after shows and talk and make each other laugh, and it’s like we’re still 18. It’s really cool and it’s not lost on us at all.”

Healy and the band take the stage at The Wiltern on Tuesday night. They aren’t strangers to playing a city after a catastrophic event — Travis was one of the first shows in New York after 9/11.

Healy said he believes in the power to bring people together: “Music's the closest thing to the cure that you'll ever get.”

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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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.