Makenna Cramer
covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California — events, processes and nuances making it a unique place to call home.
Published March 12, 2025 12:23 PM
The structures at Loma Alta Park, on North Lincoln Avenue in Altadena, still stand after the Eaton Fire, but baseball fields, play areas and more need refurbishment.
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Los Angeles County Parks and Recreation
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Topline:
Altadena’s Loma Alta Park is reopening in May after the devastating Eaton Fire with new resources and support from the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Fire Aid benefit concert.
The details: The park will get two new Dodgers Dreamfields from the foundation so the Central Altadena Little League can play their last games at home. The Community Clippers Court Program will give the gym and basketball courts a makeover, and a $2.4 million Fire Aid grant will rebuild and expand the playgrounds.
Why it matters: Norma E. García-González, director of the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation, said in a statement that building a new park typically takes 18 months, but officials have been able to shrink that timeline to just two months. “The people devastated by the Eaton Fire need their community back, and L.A. County will heed the call,” she said. “I am heartened to see how much support we’ve already received.”
The backstory: In January, the Eaton Fire tore through Altadena. It scorched more than 14,000 acres, destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed at least 17 people. Neighborhoods around Loma Alta Park were heavily damaged. And though the park's structures still stand, they are in need of refurbishing.
What's next: The park is set to reopen by May 10. Proceeds from the Opening Day and Ring Ceremony Day 50/50 raffles at Dodger Stadium will go toward the two new fields, according to the foundation.
How to get involved: Volunteers can help replant, repaint and rejuvenate the park every Saturday in April. Sign up here.
Andi Xoch in her Boyle Heights shop Latinx with Plants.
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Brian De Los Santos
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LAist
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Topline:
If you need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift and want to shop local, here are six Los Angeles shops that have you covered.
Why it matters: Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.
Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.
Echo Park-based startup Gallop offers an alternative to major online retailers that helps you shop local and find thoughtful, unique gifts — even at the last minute.
Customers browse the shelves at Burden of Proof, where wall-to-wall non-alcoholic spirits share space with a communal farm table and a miniature shopping cart — sober shopping, elevated.
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Cristabell Fierros
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The LA Local
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In the past six months, co-founders Anthony Abaci and Nic Clar have operated Gallop (formerly Giftphoria) a retail delivery platform that connects customers with independent small businesses across Los Angeles. The idea for Gallop stemmed from Abaci’s personal difficulty finding the right gifts, along with a goal to create a one-stop shop that delivers items within hours while supporting local businesses.
“A lot of these store owners, they’re competing with big-box retailers and need help with online sales, so we bring them new customers,” Abaci said.
In the early days, Abaci and Clar handled deliveries themselves, offering two-hour door-to-door service while also managing coding, store onboarding, customer service and marketing. The platform has since expanded to about 50 stores, from northeast Los Angeles to the San Gabriel Valley. It now offers express 3-hour and next-day delivery, employs a team of drivers and recently introduced gift wrapping for an additional fee.
“Moms are one of our biggest customer groups. They like using us as a convenient alternative to Amazon and Target,” Abaci said.
Even Gallop’s Instagram highlights shop owners and showcases their products.
The company recently featured Ibi Yoo, owner of Studio Ko, a Koreatown-based home goods store. Abaci said Yoo holds exclusive U.S. import rights for some of the store’s products.
Gallop’s mission centers on preserving local shopping culture and helping customers discover products not typically found at large retail chains.
But if you need a last-minute Mother’s Day gift and want to shop local, here are six Los Angeles shops that have you covered.
Studio Kō
Studio Kō is a Los Angeles-based shop founded by Ibi Yoo in 2018 that showcases high-end Korean home goods, ceramics and artisan-made lifestyle products. The Koreatown showroom highlights both traditional and contemporary Korean craftsmanship, offering a curated selection that brings Korean design and culture to a wider audience.
Koreatown 628 N. Avenue 64, Los Angeles
La Vecina
La Vecina is a women-owned neighborhood shop and community hub in Highland Park. Shoppers can find locally made greeting cards, mini dried floral bouquets, wellness products, coffee and tea bags and handmade candles. Or, create a custom Mother’s Day gift basket with La Vecina’s Mexican and Latin American pantry staples.
Northeast LA 628 N. Avenue 64, Los Angeles
Luca Essentials
Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.
Whether you visit Luca Essentials in Atwater Village or downtown Los Angeles, you’ll find a women-owned shop offering a wide range of products, including makeup, skin care, home goods, mother-and-baby items, jewelry and vintage clothing. The store’s plant-based, non-toxic items make it a good fit for moms who prefer natural products.
Downtown 5727 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles
Northeast LA 3608 Edenhurst Ave., Los Angeles
Burden of Proof
Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.
Burden of Proofis a nonalcoholic bottle shop and market in South Pasadena owned by married couple Dean and Obreanna. It offers an eclectic selection of nonalcoholic wine, spirits, beer, snacks, coffee and South Pasadena merchandise, making it a good gift stop for moms who enjoy a well-crafted mocktail or a sweet, fruit-forward wine alternative.
San Gabriel Valley 1012 Mission St. Unit B, South Pasadena
Latinx With Plants
Let’s face it: Many people have procrastinated on gift-giving at some point. Life gets busy with work, family and other responsibilities, and special occasions can slip by. What better way to thank your mama—or someone who raised you like their mama — for giving you life and care, and probably sacrificing a lot to give you everything — than with a more meaningful, locally sourced gift that feels personal, rather than the standard flowers and chocolates. Yup, calling you out.
Latinx With Plantsis a plant nursery known for its community-focused workshops and selection of plants, pots, soil, decor, Latinx merchandise and more. Just in time for Mother’s Day, the shop is offering two workshops Saturday: Bootquet and Molcajete Mamis.
Boyle Heights 2208 Cesar Chavez Ave., Los Angeles
The Chocolate Dispensary
The Chocolate Dispensary is a chocolate shop owned by partners Kala and Dale, offering a wide selection of chocolates from around the world, including truffles, cocoa powder, chocolate butter, bars and almonds. For Mother’s Day, the shop has selected a range of chocolates, including a rose petal bar, a wine and fig bar and assorted caramel chocolates.
A Compton-born coffee pop-up thrives in a Guisados
By Isaac Ceja | The LA Local
Published May 8, 2026 8:00 AM
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, poses for a portrait at Guisados in Pasadena.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where owner Pablomanuel Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
About the drinks: Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
The backstory: The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Just inches away from where workers warm up handmade tortillas at Guisados in Pasadena, Pablomanuel Maldonado puts the finishing touches on different drinks before calling out to his customers.
“Provecho,” Maldonado, owner of coffee pop-up the Caffeinated Cart, says to each customer before quickly redirecting his attention to the next, treating each one like he’s known them for years.
Local taco chain Guisados partnered with the Caffeinated Cart to bring its coffee to the people of Pasadena in a space where Maldonado can chat up his customers and serve his Latino-inspired signature coffees.
Nearly all of his drinks have names in Spanish, a nod to his Mexican roots. By far his best seller is the “Cereal Killer,” a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, where customers can choose between Cocoa Puffs or Cap’N Crunch Crunch Berries.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, prepares a Cereal Killer at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Though he’s only been operating at this location for the past three weeks, small touches — like Virgen de Guadalupe candles, a new coffee blend from local roaster Picaresca and a shiny new drink menu on the wall — make his corner of the restaurant feel welcoming.
“For the first time, I don’t feel tired. I feel mentally at peace, and it’s like, ‘Damn, this is what I love doing,’ you know?” Maldonado told The LA Local. “I get excited to come here. I get excited to get out of bed.”
Maldonado recently transitioned from working full-time at Bristol Farms during the week and doing coffee pop-ups on weekends to serving coffee full-time at Guisados.
The Caffeinated Cart began in 2020 when Maldonado started selling bottled lattes in his hometown of Compton before eventually popping up at local markets like Angel City Market and the Beach Flea.
Only a couple of years after he started, Maldonado was selling out at the pop-ups. Today, he has over 23,000 followers on Instagram.
Maldonado’s partnership with Guisados began in 2025 via an Instagram story when owner Armando De La Torre Jr. put out a call for coffee pop-ups at his Guisados location in Long Beach.
A photo illustration of the Caffeinated Cart’s most popular drink the Cereal Killer, a cinnamon brown sugar latte with a cereal garnish, at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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After connecting with De La Torre, Maldonado began popping up outside the Long Beach location for six months. But Maldonado said permitting issues with the city’s Health Department forced him to stop.
Nearly a year after their initial collaboration, De La Torre invited Maldonado to Pasadena to show off the space he had in mind for him, but the Caffeinated Cart owner had mixed emotions.
Maldonado was concerned about going to Pasadena and leaving behind the community and regular customers he had in Long Beach, but he was excited by the idea of finally having a physical space, even if it wasn’t completely his own.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, hugs his former boss who visited him at his new coffee residency at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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“We’re in a world where… everybody gatekeeps and then everybody stops each other from growing, and coffee’s been so welcoming, man,” Maldonado said. “The community I’ve built around me has just been so welcoming, and a lot of people just truly do trust us.”
Leo Abularach, co-owner of Picaresca in Boyle Heights, has been a longtime supporter of the Caffeinated Cart. He told The LA Local that he loaned Maldonado over $3,000 worth of equipment to help him get started. Abularach even let him use his business delivery service, so Maldonado would no longer have to run to the store for things like extra milk.
“He has always been there for Picaresca. He is part of our family,” Abularach said of Maldonado. “He is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I think his personality is one of the reasons why people love the Caffeinated Cart.”
Pablomanuel Maldonado, owner of the Caffeinated Cart, pours coffee beans into a grinder at Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Customers Adriana Acevedo and Eilene Gonzalez saw the Caffeinated Cart on TikTok. When they realized it was around the corner from their workplace, they decided to give it a try.
“It’s amazing. It tastes really good. Like, no notes. Amazing,” Acevedo said after finally trying the coffee in real life on a recent Wednesday morning.
“Yeah, for first timers, now I think we’re going to be returners,” Gonzalez added with a laugh.
Pablomanuel Maldonado, right, talks with customers Adriana Acevedo, left, and Eilene Gonzalez, centert, at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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The two praised the welcoming service offered by Maldonado, and after Acevedo mentioned she loves caffeine, Maldonado even gave her an additional shot.
“I’m all about making it affordable. I don’t charge extra for alternative milks. You want extra shots? Bro, get extra shots. I’m not going to charge you extra,” Maldonado said.
“We’re all for the people,” he said. “We want to make sure people can still come back and not have to feel like ‘Was the $7 coffee worth it?’”
Though it was only a Wednesday, customers kept trickling in, keeping him busy throughout his shift, and even Maldonado’s old boss from Bristol Farms, Dina Urquilla, came to support.
Maldonado said he’s still saving to open up his own shop in the future, but for now, he says he looks forward to making coffee every day in his corner of Pasadena.
A view of some of the trinkets at the Caffeinated Cart inside of Guisados in Pasadena, Calif. on Mar. 4, 2026.
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Isaac Ceja
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The LA Local
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Warnings and advisories: Extreme Heat Watch Sunday morning through Tuesday evening in Coachella Valley
What to expect: Some morning clouds followed by a sunny afternoon. Temperatures to reach the mid-80s for some areas and up into the triple digits in some parts of Coachella Valley.
Read on ... for where it's going to be the warmest today.
QUICK FACTS
Today’s weather: Sunny, partly cloudy some areas
Beaches: Mid-60s to low 70s
Mountains: Mid-70s to low 80s
Inland: 82 to 89 degrees
Warnings and advisories: Extreme Heat Watch Sunday morning through Tuesday evening in Coachella Valley
Warm temperatures are on tap again today as we head into a toasty weekend with temps set to reach the triple digits in desert communities.
L.A. County beaches will see daytime highs from 67 to 72 degrees. It'll be between 69 and 76 degrees along the Orange County coast. More inland areas like downtown L.A., Hollywood and Anaheim will see temperatures from 75 to 81 degrees.
Meanwhile, the valleys will see varying temperatures. Areas closer to the coast will see highs from 78 to 83 degrees, and further inland, temps will stay in the upper 80s, up to 89 degrees.
Meanwhile in Coachella Valley, temperatures will rise to 101 to 106 degrees.
Looking ahead to the weekend, the valleys will reach the 90s for Mother's Day, up to 100 degrees in the Antelope Valley too. Come Sunday, an Extreme Heat Warning kicks in for the Coachella Valley, where temperatures will stay in the low 100s, with up to 109 degrees possible. Make sure to stay hydrated!
Before today, the D Line ran until Koreatown, largely parallel to the B Line.
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AURELIA VENTURA
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Topline:
The first phase of the Los Angeles Metro D Line extension opens today, with the public able to start riding to the three new stations at 12:30 p.m.
The new stops: The three new Wilshire Boulevard stops are located at La Brea and Fairfax avenues and La Cienega Boulevard. The first phase of the extension will stretch D Line service from downtown L.A. to Beverly Hills. Before today, the D Line ran until Koreatown, largely parallel to the B Line.
Free fares: The entire Metro system — including bus, rail, bike share and Metro Micro — will be free starting Friday morning through early morning Monday. If you’re using Metro Bike Share, make sure to input the code 050826.
Celebrations at the new stations: KCRW DJs and food vendors will be at each of the new stations and the Western Avenue station in Koreatown. Throughout May and June, there will be activations at the new stations, including salsa dancing and basket weaving classes.
More to come: Two additional extensions of the D Line, currently forecast to open in 2027, will add four additional stations through Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood Village.
