The Brief

After earning a bachelor’s degree in art history five years ago, Erin Aguilar struggled to establish a career in the art world — or even secure an internship.

“Nothing was happening,” she said. “It was kind of disheartening.”

At a community arts center in Boyle Heights about two years ago, she spotted a pamphlet for a museum studies program at East Los Angeles College; she signed up. Now Aguilar is close to completing her coursework at ELAC, and she's an intern at the Getty, one of L.A.'s most prominent arts institutions.

ELAC’s Museum Studies Certificate Program consists of coursework in art history, library science, anthropology, and studio art. And, perhaps most importantly, the program guarantees an internship — a big deal in a competitive industry.

Exposure to new career options

Art history professor Surana Singh created the program with her colleagues at ELAC and at the Vincent Price Art Museum, which is housed on campus. They wanted to expose students to a broad range of career options.

ELAC launched the program during the pandemic. Some courses continue to be offered online, but about half of them are in person.

Dr. Surana Singh co-developed the museum studies program and teaches its capstone course.

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When they look to the future, Singh said, art history students often envision museum and gallery curators, who, among other duties, oversee how art and artifacts are selected and displayed. Curators are important, she added, but there are many other roles that might be a better fit.

“Our goal is for students to find what their interest is through the readings, through the lectures, and then through the internship experience,” she said. “Maybe someone interns in a curatorial practice, and then they realize: ‘Oh! curation’s not for me’ — but they learn that within this environment, and then they can take that with them.”

Such was the case for Aguilar. When she first enrolled in the program, she was set on becoming a curator. Now that she’s been exposed to other career options, Aguilar has found that she’s more interested in archival and conservation work. “We don’t all need to be curators,” she said.

A chance to explore

Many students in the program already have bachelor’s degrees, but not the career they envisioned.

ELAC student Jessica Ardon.

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ELAC student Erin Aguilar.

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Sara Castro, who earned her bachelor's in history at Grinnell College in Iowa, also applied to ELAC following a frustrating experience in the art world.

To get her foot in the door, Castro worked in visitor services at a mid-size museum for about two years. But when she was ready to move forward, she hit a wall.

“It's so hard [to move up] in museums, unless you have a master's or Ph.D. or, like, eight years of work experience,” she said.

For her internship, Sara Castro worked at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Come fall, she will begin a master’s program in cultural studies at Claremont Graduate University.

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But before investing in graduate school, Castro wanted more information. “I just wanted to have the space to explore and learn about the different areas in museums,” she said.

ELAC enabled her to do that. In January, Castro was an intern in the National Gallery of Art's interpretation department. The internship covered her airfare and lodging. She also received two stipends, one for daily expenses and another for winter clothes. To help her and her fellow interns get settled, two Vincent Price Art Museum staff members also went along.

Some of her classmates are skilled artists. Others are “more like me,” she said. “[We] were, like: ‘How do you make art? What is it?’ That was really fun. It kind of got me out of my comfort zone, [and it] gave me a good perspective.”

In depth with cultural studies

While students complete their internships, they’re also required to take a lab on campus. Singh’s capstone class meets every Friday on the third floor of the Vincent Price Art Museum. She and her students gather in the “Museum Learning Lab,” a room teeming with art books — everything from Kehinde Wiley to Richard Avedon to 1,000 Chairs. The course gives students time and space to reflect on their internships, and on how museums shape our views.

Singh and her students leave no issue unturned. Their conversations encompass everything from didactics (the labels that accompany art and artifacts) to museum hours.

Grounded in cultural studies — an interdisciplinary field that examines how culture is created, shared, and maintained — Singh’s capstone course pushes students to examine structures of power and how they’re reproduced. This includes conversations about who gets to be in museum leadership and how communities are represented. They also discuss the historical role of museums, how they can be problematic, and how they can be transformed.

Professor Singh with students in the capstone course. These students are currently interns at the Getty Villa, LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes, and other institutions.

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Located on campus, the Vincent Price Art Museum has permanent collection of fine art.

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When Jessica Ardon, a Cal State Northridge graduate, was comparing different museum studies programs, this perspective drew her in. ELAC’s program, she said, delves deep into questions like: “How do you make a museum more inclusive?” and, “How do we mend wounds with people who've been excluded from these spaces?”

“I wanted to be part of that,” she said.

Ardon is also an intern at the Getty Villa. On a Friday morning earlier this month, she paired up for class discussion with a student who interns at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes in downtown L.A. Their conversation was grounded in an assigned TED Talk titled “We Must Decolonize Our Museum,” which encourages museum professionals to craft exhibitions alongside the communities they aim to represent — instead of bringing them on as consultants just as an afterthought. From there, Ardon and her classmate went on to discuss the ethics of exhibiting human remains; the implications of having a 16th-century Aztec headdress on display at a museum in Austria; and a book called Whitewalling: Art, Race & Protest in 3 Acts.

Building an enduring network

Singh’s capstone course also coaches students, so they can get the most out of their internships. At their respective work sites, all students are assigned a mentor. They help students craft résumés and cover letters. They also provide job interview tips and advice on how to build a career in the art world.

For Ardon, this part of the program has been especially helpful. Looking back on another internship, she regrets not taking a more proactive role in her learning. But, she added, it also helps that the mentors she and her classmates have been assigned are wholly committed to the experience. “They’re very much on top of it,” she said.

On top of sharing practical skills, Ardon said her mentor is always checking in. And if there’s someone at the Getty she’s too shy to approach, her mentor is happy to make an introduction.

For alumna Cicely Beltran, the professional relationships cultivated at ELAC have been longlasting. The museum studies program helped draw her back to the college after she quit over a decade before to raise her family.

ELAC alumna Cicely Beltran.

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Growing up, Beltran walked past this David Botello mural almost every day. It's one of the many community art pieces that sparked her interest in art.

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She continues to be in conversation with her former professors as she pursues a bachelor’s degree in art education at Cal State Long Beach. She’s also developed a strong bond with her colleagues at the Vincent Price Art Museum, where she works part-time as a guide. When she goes in for work, she said, “it does not feel like I'm going to a workplace . . . I'm going to a place with a real sense of community.”

Perhaps most significantly, the museum studies program helped Beltran reshape her own narrative, after so many years away from the classroom.

In her professor’s view, there was no gap in Beltran’s educational journey. Singh helped her see that “the whole time I was at home, raising my son, I was still researching art, writing about art, thinking about art, making art.”

“It was super validating,” Beltran said. “It made me feel like I hadn’t wasted all those years.”

L.A. County health officials Wednesday confirmed the county's seventh measles case this year — a traveler who passed through Hollywood Burbank Airport on the morning of June 17.

They're warning people who may have come in contact with the person of possible exposure to the highly contagious virus.

What you should know: Public health officials say the infected traveler arrived on Southwest Airlines Flight 4245 Gate A4 on June 17 at the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Anyone who was at that gate between 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. may have been exposed.

Officials also noted that people who were at the Thrifty Rental Car Service on June 17 from 9:20 to 10:20 a.m. and on June 18 from 10:25 to 11:25 a.m. may have been exposed. That's located at 2627 N. Hollywood Way in Burbank.

What if I was on the flight? Public health officials say passengers sitting next to the traveler will be notified by local health departments and should monitor for symptoms. Keep in mind those symptoms could appear up to three weeks after you were exposed.

Symptoms to look out for: Common symptoms include runny nose, fever cough, or a rash. It's also important if you develop these symptoms, don't just walk into a health care center without calling ahead first.

For people exposed on June 17, the last day to monitor for symptoms is July 8. For those exposed on June 18, the last day to monitor for symptoms is July 19.

How can I protect myself?: It's important to check if you are vaccinated against the measles. As health officials noted in the news release reporting the latest case: "The most effective way to protect yourself and your family is with the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine."

The Los Angeles Unified Board voted unanimously to appoint Andres Chait, a longtime district administrator, as superintendent days after his predecessor resigned.

 “This board's decision reflects the confidence in Mr. Chait's leadership, his decades of service to Los Angeles Unified, and his demonstrated ability to guide the district during this period of transition,” said board President Scott Schmerelson.

The board met privately to discuss the district’s top job three days after Alberto Carvalho resigned. Carvalho wrote in a letter that he was leaving “because I believe our schools must remain focused on students and learning without distraction.”

The board placed Carvalho on paid administrative leave following FBI searches of his home and district office in February and appointed Chait acting superintendent. Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and has maintained his innocence.

Who is Andres Chait?

Chait rose through the ranks from teacher to administrator at LAUSD over nearly three decades. The responsibilities of his most recent role, chief of school operations, included overseeing school safety, athletics and the district’s office of emergency management.

Chait thanked the board, the community and his family after the announcement Wednesday and reflected on his first day as a kindergarten teacher 30 years ago. “ I was probably more nervous than the kids were, but I knew then that this was a place where I could make a positive difference in the lives of students and families,” Chait said. “I've always known that there is no greater accelerator of change and opportunity than the schoolhouse, and that is still true today.”

What is the superintendent responsible for?

LAUSD is the country’s second-largest school district, employs 83,000 people and enrolls more than 400,000 students across more than 1,000 schools. Despite recent gains in student test scores, the majority of students are not proficient in reading and math skills for their grade level. The district also faces looming financial challenges from declining enrollment — which is tied to state funding — and federal investigations into programs designed to help underserved students succeed.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

A former state parks superintendent who oversaw Orange County beaches was charged Wednesday with secretly filming naked male lifeguards and other workers inside the locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The former superintendent, Kevin Pearsall, is also accused of sending some of the images to two other men.

What charges does he face?

Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, faces five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings. If convicted on all charges, he faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months behind bars.

Scott C. Thomas, a defense attorney representing Pearsall, declined to comment in the wake of the charges being announced by the Orange County District Attorney's office. Pearsall is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 6 and could enter a plea at that time.

Details of the investigation

In July 2025, a California State Parks officer discovered a USB stick with a hidden camera in the men's locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. The officer contacted California Highway Patrol, which launched an investigation.

The investigation found Pearsall allegedly had recorded numerous secret videos in the locker room over an 11-month period beginning in August 2024, according to the DA's announcement. Pearsall retired from his job shortly after CHP served search warrants in the case. He turned himself in earlier this week.

State Parks reaction

Marty Greenstein, a spokesperson for California State Parks, told LAist the agency “takes these charges very seriously and has fully cooperated with law enforcement through every step of the investigation.” Greenstein declined to comment further, citing the active criminal investigation.

Making your way through South Coast Plaza — the sleek consumer cathedral in Costa Mesa, a sort of mall of malls — past Uniqlo window displays and Pop Mart blind boxes, there's a good chance you'll eventually land at Tiny's, the new casual restaurant from Chef Sang Yoon.

The burger shack-meets-Asian convenience store is the latest from Yoon, best known for Father's Office, the Los Angeles institution where he's spent two decades running one of the city's most uncompromising kitchens — no substitutions, no exceptions.

Tiny’s marks Yoon’s first venture into Orange County — a deliberately accessible entry point for a chef who has spent decades at the top of L.A.'s gastropub scene.

The concept

Tiny's is the place Yoon wanted to exist as a kid.

Inside, you're greeted by shelves stocked in the style of a konbini, the beloved Japanese convenience corner store, with cilantro-flavored Doritos from China, elote-flavored Turtle Chips from Korea and, for the purists, the requisite Japanese Kit-Kats and Pocky too.

At the counter, a friendly employee greets you beneath a letterboard menu anchored by Yoon’s signature 30-day dry-aged beef burger. Starting at $9 for a plain burger, up to $12 for the Tokyo Dog dressed in bonito flakes and furikake, there's also salt and vinegar tots, french fries, miso mac 'n' cheese and soft serve that runs from Straus vanilla to Pineapple Dole Whip, available as a swirl, cup, cone or float. That's the menu, streamlined by design.

Chef Sang Yoon's cheeseburger and Tokyo Dog at Tiny's, his new fast-casual concept inside South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa

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For Yoon, the son of Korean immigrants who grew up between two worlds, the idea of opening a burger stand with a konbini was about tapping into the happy place of his memories: after school with friends, trying out the latest snacks to hit the market to Friday nights with the entire family celebrating after a long week of grinding it out with burgers and chili fries.

"The corner burger stand is where life happened. ... What if those two of my favorite things were under one roof?" said Yoon.

Tiny the dog

Inspiration for the name Tiny’s came from a somewhat unlikely place: Yoon’s beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Yoon describes her as appearing extremely cute and friendly, but in reality, she was actually sassy and judgmental. Illustrations bearing Tiny’s "don't mess with me" vibe can be seen throughout the restaurant.

“People would rather hear this from a sassy, cute dog than me. So I decided that we should channel Tiny. And let this belong to her," Yoon said.

The food

The cheeseburger itself is simple: a thin patty topped with melted American cheese and Tiny's signature sauce — a blend of Kewpie mayo, caramelized gochujang, ssamjang and tomato — finished with pickle chips and a bed of lettuce.

What sets it apart is what you can’t see, the same 30-day dry-aged chuck Yoon has used at Father’s Office for over 25 years.

“I still don’t think there’s any product superior to that for the purpose of a hamburger,” he said.

The spread at Tiny's includes the cheeseburger, miso mac 'n' cheese, chicken nuggets, tater tots, fries and a jammy egg sando — a konbini staple in Japan.

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The nuggets ($10) had a crispy, craggy exterior finished with visible seasoning crystals, a small but deliberate touch, and came with a fresh herbaceous dipping sauce. As for the chili fries ($8), the chili itself was sufficient as an L.A.-style chili (think Tommy's), but since Lao Gan Ma chili crisp was promised in the name, I was expecting that distinctive, crunchy, fermented kick — but left wanting more of it. It felt more like a whisper than a statement.

The miso mac 'n' cheese ($6) was a highlight of the meal, especially for someone who doesn't usually order mac 'n' cheese. Fresh ridged elbow pasta with a proper chew in each bite, and salty morsels of miso folded into a tight cheese sauce had me picking up forkfuls until it was mostly gone. Consider my position reconsidered.

Encouraged, I went back and ordered a Dole Whip ($7). The electric, tangy flavor, paired with the soft creaminess, served as a suitable exclamation point for my lunch that day.

With Tiny's, Yoon has built his most personal restaurant — accessible in price, but uncompromising in intention.

Could mall food now be on a new trajectory? Perhaps we've finally transcended corn dogs at Hot Dog on a Stick and cinnamon rolls at Cinnabon.

After dining at Tiny’s, all signs point to yes.