Topline:
A small group of volunteers is working to remove invasive plants in Temescal Canyon Gateway Park in the Pacific Palisades.
Why it matters: Invasive plants such as castor bean and black mustard can outcompete natives after a fire and lead to dry vegetation that makes future fires worse.
Read on ... for more on the small but mighty volunteer effort in the Palisades, and how you can help.
Jordan Corral had to do something.
It was late 2024, during a historically dry start to the winter. But the winter before that had been historically wet. This kind of “weather whiplash” is growing more common with a warming climate, research is finding. And it meant the hillsides of the Santa Monica Mountains were overgrown with invasive and highly flammable plants, such as black mustard, castor bean and fennel.
So Corral got to work. Alongside mentor Bill Neill, the president of the Santa Monica Mountains chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Corral pulled together a group of volunteers to pull out invasive plants.
Then came the Palisades Fire. Corral and his wife, Sara Marti, lost their apartment and had to start over. They’ve finally relocated to an apartment that survived the fire. Meanwhile, through their work for the nonprofit Resilient Palisades, Corral has launched a subgroup focused on invasive plant removal.
“The team is working on wildfire recovery while trying to mitigate the next wildfire simultaneously,” Marti said by phone on a day when Corral was out working with volunteers in Temescal Canyon Gateway Park.
Now, Marti said, their effort to heal the land has become a part of their own recovery journey.
You can learn more about the invasive plant removal effort here and sign up to volunteer here. The group is looking for volunteers Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends from 10 a.m. to noon.
You can also find the latest updates on the group’s Instagram @removal_of_invasive_plants.
Learn more on the Resilient Palisades website.
“Being a part of the recovery has played an enormous part of personal healing,” she said. “It's meditative while you know that you're also making a huge difference, protecting the nearby neighborhoods.”
A half dozen or so volunteers, including Corral and Marti, have been regularly going to the park to remove invasive species, which choke out native plants and grow into dense, dry vegetation that can make fires more intense. They’ve also worked with local high schools and youth groups.
Now, they’re racing to get as many invasive species removed as possible, while at the same time planting as many native seeds as they can, ahead of a potentially very wet winter driven by El Niño. If the rain is as intense as forecasters are predicting, it could help invasive species flourish further.
The effort has been boosted by a recent $24,000 grant from UCLA’s Philanthropy as Civic Engagement Course. The money will help hire expert field assistants and buy safety gear, among other things. Corral and Marti hope the effort can become sustained.
“It's not a one-and-done thing,” Marti said. “Invasive plants are going to continue coming back. … So we're really just trying to stay ahead of it as much as we can.”
In some ways, Marti said, the effort reflects their own journey to recover after losing their apartment in the fire.
“ We're probably never going to win, but we can't give up,” she said. “We have to keep trying.”
Topline:
The city of Los Angeles will establish a fund to clean the 6th Street Bridge, where trash and other waste often pile up on pedestrian walkways.
Why now: In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the City Council approved the establishment of the fund, which will allow the city to accept and retain donations from private entities “to preserve this iconic landmark,” Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said.
The context: The dedicated fund follows the city’s hiring of Pasadena-based engineering firm Tetra Tech to restore the lighting of the bridge, which has been plagued by copper wire theft since its opening in 2022. The outages have frustrated residents and commuters who use the bridge to walk, run, bike and drive between downtown L.A. and the Eastside.
The backstory: Funds will go toward trash and bulky item pickup, graffiti abatement and other beautification services for the bridge.
The city of Los Angeles will establish a fund to clean the 6th Street Bridge, where trash and other waste often pile up on pedestrian walkways.
In a unanimous vote on Tuesday, the City Council approved the establishment of the fund, which will allow the city to accept and retain donations from private entities “to preserve this iconic landmark,” Councilmember Ysabel Jurado said. “Our commitment to this bridge has to ensure its longevity.”
Funds will go toward trash and bulky item pickup, graffiti abatement and other beautification services for the bridge.
The dedicated fund follows the city’s hiring of Pasadena-based engineering firm Tetra Tech to restore the lighting of the bridge, which has been plagued by copper wire theft since its opening in 2022.
The outages have frustrated residents and commuters who use the bridge to walk, run, bike and drive between downtown L.A. and the Eastside.
This move also comes as residents in Boyle Heights and the Arts District grapple with how the 12-acre park beneath the bridge will be maintained once it opens in 2027.
Community members have raised concerns about the possibility of homeless encampments forming at the park, as well as graffiti and whether copper wire theft from the bridge could affect the park’s safety.
Meanwhile, groups like the Arts District Little Tokyo Neighborhood Council, Arts District Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights 5K Run/Walk are filling gaps with an upcoming bridge cleanup in collaboration with Jurado’s office.
The post City of LA will establish a fund to clean the 6th Street Bridge appeared first on LA Local.
Topline:
After weeks of stifling heat, Long Beach is preparing for a different kind of weather: powerful southerly swells, followed by rain showers as early as Saturday, all courtesy of a hurricane expected to make landfall in California this weekend.
What to expect: With a coastal advisory in effect through Friday, experts say 3-to-6-foot waves are being carried to shore by tides reaching 7 feet high and leaving behind dangerous rip currents.
How Long Beach is preparing: City crews were busy the past several days stowing hundreds of sandbags beneath the boardwalk as a second barrier, with emergency pumps ready. The work is complicated by the short window between recurring high tides and a limited supply of sand.
The backstory: The storm arrives at the tail end of a weekslong heat wave that experts say is a consequence of climate change compounded by El Niño, which has kept nights unusually warm and humid. “At night it’s not cooling off as much, and that ends up being pretty consequential,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Because obviously the night is when people would usually cool down.” El Niño also helps explain the high number of hurricanes and storm systems like Rachel and its predecessors, Swain said. “El Niño also increases hurricane activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean,” Swain said, describing a season that ranks as either the most or second most active on record depending on the metric.
This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.
After weeks of stifling heat, Long Beach is preparing for a different kind of weather: powerful southerly swells, followed by rain showers as early as Saturday, all courtesy of a hurricane expected to make landfall in California this weekend.
Waves arrived along the Peninsula on Wednesday — sending water onto the boardwalk and side streets — and returned Thursday, slapping against the already weakened bulkhead that serves as the last line of defense for a number of beach homes.
With a coastal advisory in effect through Friday, experts say 3-to-6-foot waves are being carried to shore by tides reaching 7 feet high and leaving behind dangerous rip currents.
City crews were busy the past several days stowing hundreds of sandbags beneath the boardwalk as a second barrier, with emergency pumps ready. The work is complicated by the short window between recurring high tides and a limited supply of sand.
“We’re just basically trying to create a buffer between that impact zone, the energy of the impact, and that wall,” said Marine Safety Chief Gonzalo Medina. “I do expect that we will see some activity and some water intrusion out onto the streets, certainly the boardwalk.”
Marine and fire crews are expected to stand by overnight to monitor water levels and assist residents.
The area has already been tested this year, taking damage from Hurricane Marie over Labor Day weekend, followed by Hurricane Polo in late September. The National Weather Service says this week’s flooding will probably exceed Polo’s but fall short of Marie’s.
Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the NWS office in Oxnard, said swells are forecast to peak Thursday through Saturday during the morning and evening tides.
It’s another example of an abnormal season, Lund said, where tides are running 1 to 2 feet higher than usual, well “above the astronomical tide charts.”
Waves are being charged north by Hurricane Rachel, which is expected to weaken considerably before it makes landfall 100 miles south of San Diego early Sunday and reaches the California-New Mexico border by Monday.
In comparison to the 2023 tropical storm Hillary, which wrought widespread flooding that necessitated rescues in desert towns, Lund said this storm is farther south and entering at a more horizontal angle toward New Mexico.
But it’s still “hard to tell for right now” how the storm will progress, Lund said, saying higher-resolution models should be released Friday or Saturday that more accurately predict its path.
Forecasters say the system should still deliver heavy rain, gusty winds, dangerous surf and localized flooding, with hazardous zones stretching as far north as Orange County.
In Long Beach, rain could start as early as Saturday morning and linger through Tuesday night, with the best chance from Sunday morning through Monday evening.
Totals are expected to be modest, roughly a quarter to three-quarters of an inch, with a small chance of thunderstorms. South-to-west gusts of 20 to 35 mph are likely from Saturday through Monday, adding the risk of fallen trees and power lines.
“The wind would actually be a lot more problematic than the rain,” Medina said. “You have a lot of trees already that we’re seeing, just from this heat, that have fallen. This heat has weakened the structure of a lot of these trees. And now you bring wind into the equation. The trees bring down power lines, and it gets complicated after that.”
The storm arrives at the tail end of a weekslong heat wave that experts say is a consequence of climate change compounded by El Niño, which has kept nights unusually warm and humid.
“At night it’s not cooling off as much, and that ends up being pretty consequential,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Because obviously the night is when people would usually cool down.”
El Niño also helps explain the high number of hurricanes and storm systems like Rachel and its predecessors, Swain said. “El Niño also increases hurricane activity in the eastern Pacific Ocean,” Swain said, describing a season that ranks as either the most or second most active on record depending on the metric.
The result has been repeated surges of tropical moisture toward Southern California, leaving humidity high.
Ocean temperatures off the coast are now about 7 to 8 degrees above average, and the Pacific from central Baja California to Southern California is at record warmth in data going back to 1982. Warm water expands, and a Kelvin wave, an underwater ripple that becomes “coastally trapped” as it reaches the Americas, can add 6 to 12 inches to background sea levels, potentially for months.
Swain said harbor masters and fire departments in coastal Los Angeles County have been calling him. “They’re like, ‘I’ve never seen water this high,'” he said, adding one told him it was the highest in 30 years, on a day that wasn’t supposed to be a particularly high tide.
And he expects it to get worse. “That’s something that’s actually going to get worse as we go into November and December.”
More Kelvin waves are expected this season, and scientists worry about one coinciding with a king tide, a major storm or both. The Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a wetter-than-average winter for Southern California, and Swain sees little doubt.
“All signs continue to point toward a very wet winter in coastal Southern California,” he said. “I would be very surprised if we did not have that.”
For now, the city is focused on the week ahead. Sandbag distribution sites open Thursday at 10 a.m. at Fire Stations 7, 12, 13 and 14, and at the Claremont Beach parking lot, through Tuesday.
Empty sandbags are available at all LBFD neighborhood Fire Stations. While the Claremont Beach Parking Lot (5400 E. Ocean Blvd.) site is offering sand and sandbags through Tuesday. Sand and sandbags are also available at the locations listed below starting Thursday, Oct. 8, at 10 a.m.:
• Fire Station 7 – 2295 Elm St.
• Fire Station 12 – 1199 E. Artesia Blvd.
• Fire Station 13 – 2475 Adriatic Ave.
• Fire Station 14 – 5200 E. Eliot St.
Find more ways to be prepared at LBPost.com/elnino
Topline:
The tiny Westside n/naka, where California meets Japanese kaiseki, is celebrating 15 years with a series of collaborative dinners with like-minded chefs, led by chefs Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama.
Why it matters: n/naka has carved out its own take on Japanese kaiseki, blending California flavors throughout a 12-course meal. Seating only 26 diners at a time, it's received Michelin stars and Nakayama has been nominated twice for outstanding chef by the James Beard Foundation, most recently in 2026.
Why now: By bringing in chefs from New York, Lima, and the Bay Area to celebrate what Nakayama and Iida-Nakayama have built, the anniversary further spotlights Los Angeles' role in global fine dining.
The first bite at n/naka, the acclaimed Westside Japanese restaurant, asks you to slow down. The meal opens with an oyster dressed with asparagus, elderflower, dill and horseradish, served beside caviar on a puffed-rice crisp over a bed of juniper sprigs.
The oyster's briny, meaty texture meets earthy, herbal notes and a touch of sweetness from the produce. It's a bite with weight, enough to carry you somewhere else entirely: a forest at the edge of a rugged coastal range, waves crashing at your feet.
It’s the kind of moment that chefs Niki Nakayama and Carole Iida-Nakayama have been building for 15 years.
Kaiseki is a traditional multicourse Japanese meal built from a series of small, seasonal dishes. Its roots are often traced to both the quiet meals served before a tea ceremony and the more elaborate banquets paired with sake. Today, the style is defined less by a single origin than by its emphasis on seasonality, balance and presentation.
The tiny, unassuming Michelin-starred restaurant — which seats only 26 people at a time — is located on a quiet corner in the Palms neighborhood. n/naka was one of the first restaurants in America to serve modern kaiseki; Nakayama, who was born and raised in Los Angeles, helped introduce kaiseki to the city when n/naka opened in 2011. She describes the restaurant’s style of cuisine as “a modern California Japanese kaiseki," and her skills have been repeatedly recognized; she's been nominated as an outstanding chef by the James Beard Foundation twice, most recently in 2026.
In a city where restaurants regularly close after a few years, still being in existence — and thriving — after 15 years deserves its own acknowledgment.
Instead of throwing a party for their 15th anniversary, the two chefs, who are partners both in business and in life, invited like-minded chefs from New York to Lima to cook with them in a series of one-night-only dinners.
“I really wanted to not just collab for the sake of doing collabs,” she said. She wanted the chefs “that had the same angle and story as ours, where they’re coming from somewhere else, and they’re recreating the food from their personal perspective.”
Each dinner has its own theme, Nakayama said. A collaboration with Emma Bengtsson of the two-Michelin-star restaurant Aquavit in New York honored women in the industry. A partnership with Micha Tsumura of Maido in Lima, Peru — named the World's Best Restaurant in 2025 by World's 50 Best — explored diaspora. There’s one dinner left — on December 15, with Shinichi Aoki of Hashiri Bettei Kaiseki in the Bay Area. Aoki’s will bring together traditional kaiseki and n/naka’s modern version.
If you're lucky enough to get a reservation for their regular menu, however, you can still expect a spectacular meal. (I grabbed the chance to attend a rare media tasting). 12 vibrant courses for $395 per person, with a wine pairing of $195.
The meal weaves together a range of influences, beginning with the oyster. From there, it moves to the zensai, a bamboo basket of delicately crafted bites that looks like a bejeweled version of Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet. It holds a tiny beef taquito, California blue shrimp, chawanmushi topped with a single slice of mushroom, and corn tempura.
California seems top of mind in every morsel, starting with the taquito. Nakayama says tacos appeared on past menus throughout the years. "Those are experiences that I've had growing up," she said. "They deserve to be celebrated within this context."
Another course crosses cultures: a steamed crab-and-shrimp dumpling in tomato dashi, finished with lemongrass and basil oil. Lemongrass is a staple of Southeast Asian cooking, and Nakayama said she has never seen it used in Japanese food. "I think we can put it all together and still make it work and ultimately still have it feel very Japanese," she said.
As the meal progresses, the dishes grow richer. One is spaghetti studded with fish roe and topped with abalone and shaved truffle. Another is A5 wagyu served alongside a hollowed-out squash packed with sweet corn, finished with a crisp, butterfly-shaped cracker. The beef's melt-in-your-mouth richness plays against the vegetables' delicacy, and the plate feels whole.
The back of the menu carries an old Japanese proverb, ichi-go, ichi-e, which means "one time, one meeting." It embodies the idea that every encounter should be treasured because it will never happen again. Below it, the menu calls California n/naka's "living landscape" and kaiseki its "culinary medium," setting the tone for the evening.
Nakayama said the idea guides her kitchen. "You will never have this day, this hour, this minute back," she said. "So be in the moment."
Looking ahead, she hopes the restaurant can be a refuge. "I think there's so much stress in the world that if there's a place you can step into that's a reprieve from that, I would hope that a place like ours fills that space," she said.
Whether it's sentimental, useful or just never out of style, we all have that one item that has stuck with us through thick and thin. Listeners of AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news show, shared what has survived the test of time for them, and the stories behind why they're still in use. You can hear the full conversation above.
Some examples that stood out to us:
Themes we heard:
