The Brief

That dream event for a food writer, the L.A. County Fair, starts today at the Pomona Fairplex, and runs through May 26.

What better way to test your palate — and stomach — than scarfing down fried food in all its rainbow variety? So earlier this week, I went to the fairgrounds to attend the media food preview.

I was accompanied by a cadre of local food influencers I recognized from Instagram and TikTok. (Like me, their family members are no doubt asking them if this is really what they do for work.)

Howdy, Thummer — so named because he appears to have been hitching a ride since his debut 75 years ago.

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L.A. County Fair

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We were given goodie bags with various branded L.A. County Fair ephemera, much of which includes the likeness of an anthropomorphized cartoon pig named Thummer, who has been the face of the fair organization since 1948. He looks good for being in his 70s — not a wrinkle on him. (He's named Thummer because his hoof looks like he's thumbing a ride).

In addition to the Thummer-themed goodies, the bag contained a white bucket hat. I was instructed to take it to a booth where an airbrush artist would personalize it with my name and a couple of preselected designs. So I dropped it off and was told to pick it up later. More on that soon.

So there we all were on a slightly overcast morning in Pomona, where internet culture and fair culture mixed like a cartoon crossover episode warning about the dangers of taking drugs. Yet, instead of a moral message, my compatriots and I were primarily focused on how many creative angles we could film ourselves stuffing our faces under the best lighting.

I peeled myself off, made a plan for my review of the fairgrounds tasting menu, and set off.

Meatball mozzarella corn dog

Much like the name itself, this was a mouthful. But not in the ways that you’d expect.

My first bite of the battered "dog" was not what I'd hoped — juicy meatball, gooey cheese. Instead, I got a large helping of only slightly melted mozzarella, which felt somewhat disappointing.

I took matters into my own hands, removing the dog from its stick, tearing it apart and searching for the meat as our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have. I was successful. But the meatball lacked any seasoning and couldn't be rescued, despite numerous dunkings into a side of marinara sauce.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Anaheim chile poppers

The Anaheim chile popper, topped with a cheese sauce and crushed Flamin’ Hot Cheetos ranked high in our taste test.

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Gab Chabrán

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Next up was a series of grilled Anaheim chiles, cooked down and dolloped with a queso-like dip, almost bechamel adjacent, similar to what might be found in a homemade macaroni and cheese. It was then sprinkled with crumbled-up bits of hot Cheetos.

I was surprised how much I liked this. Perhaps I was showing my age, but the simple construction of peppers, cheese, and spicy bits worked exceptionally well.

I’m not usually one to go for Hot Cheeto-branded products for fear that it might wreak a certain kind of havoc on my insides, but this particular dish felt decently balanced. (And indeed kept my insides intact).

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Jerk lobster mac and cheese

The jerk lobster mac and cheese, a savory bomb, filled with spice.

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Gab Chabrán

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Speaking of mac ‘n cheese, it was time for the next dish, which felt like something conjured by Chat GPT when you type "fair food.” To my surprise, this dish with its bookoo flavors managed to walk the line between salty and spicy hot.

The meatiness of the lobster was so prominent that I pondered how many lobsters had lost their limbs for this dish. Despite that passing thought, I continued with more forkfuls, chasing the spice dragon to get my fix, with the flavors releasing just the right amount of dopamine in my brain.

After finally coming to my senses, I found myself extraordinarily thirsty but still feeling like a million bucks, and it was time to find something to drink before I consumed my next dish.

Rating: 3 out 5

Pickle lemonade

LAist Food Editor, Gab Chabrán, ponders his fate while taking a sip of pickle lemonade.

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Marcellina Chappelle

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LAist

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Luckily, the good people at Hot Dog on a Stick had me covered. The local chain has been around since 1946 (making it two years older than one Thummer the pig), when it made its debut at Muscle Beach near the Santa Monica Pier.

The chain has built a name for itself slinging corn dogs and lemonade, and we were greeted by a row of employees wearing the iconic red, white, blue and yellow uniforms. This particular day, however, they had a new addition to the menu: pickle lemonade.

To say that I love pickles would be a drastic understatement. My fridge at home contains at least a couple of jars, not to mention the occasional jar of relish.

After taking one sip, it became clear that HDOAS had knocked it out of the park. The fresh, sweet lemonade and the salinity of the pickle brine played off each other exceptionally well. Its flavor combination resembled a fresher version of my preferred Gatorade flavor, Limon Pepino (cucumber lime).

After a couple of sips, though, one thing became abundantly clear: the salt content of the drink left me even more thirsty. Mission definitely not accomplished.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A break from eating to watch some pig races

I then realized it was time for the pig races, and we made our way over to the small racetrack. A gentleman who owned the pig racing company played an EDM version of Cotton Eyed Joe to hype up the audience, who were about to be inundated with cuteness from the little pigs running as fast as they could.

The hype worked. My fellow internet personalities danced and twerked, filming each other for meme-worthy moments to share with their followers.

After the pig races, we were informed that we would be treated to a special race featuring baby lambs. Let me tell you, if you haven’t witnessed four baby lambs making their way down the racetrack to get to a bottle of milk at the end while Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling is playing, then you truly haven't experienced life.

Behold the Ga LAist bucket hat, his parting gift after stuffing his face at the L.A. County Fair Media Day.

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Marcellina Chappelle

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LAist

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It was then time to pick up my personalized, airbrushed bucket hat. I wandered over to the booth, excited to see “Gab Chabran LAist” as I’d ordered, along with my selected image of a corn dog (because what else), so that I could be the envy of all my friends and co-workers.

Instead, it came with the inscription “Ga LAist.” Sigh. When I went back and asked if I could get another, I was told that was what I had written down (it wasn’t) and that there were no more hats. I wasn’t going to fight over a free airbrushed hat. I accepted my fate as Ga LAist and moved on.

Time for dessert

Gab Chabrán, LAist food editor, gets lost in the cheese while consuming his Korean corndog covered with condensed milk and Fruity Pebbles.

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Marcellina Chappelle

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LAist

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I went down to the final stand, which advertised Korean Corn Dogs. The Korean-style corn dog offered that day was deep-fried, slathered with condensed milk, and topped with Fruity Pebbles.

I felt myself fill with childlike excitement, as if the entire day's events had been leading up to this, misnamed bucket hats be damned.

I took my first bite and found cheese — a surprising amount, which buried the hot dog underneath. Truthfully, although cheese is sometimes a feature of K-dogs, it’s not something I usually order, so it caught me a little off guard.

Rating: 1 out of 5

Where's the antacid?

At that point, it was time to hit the brakes. The oversaturated, condensed milk corn dog batter had stolen a little bit of my soul, and it was time to call it a day.

I knew that I'd had my fill of cheese, fried food, and general county fair overstimulation, and I should call it while I still had a modicum of dignity.

I felt fine after consuming everything I did that day, I attribute that to having a strong stomach (knock on wood).

That being said, I'm glad the county fair only comes around once a year, so I don't have to subject myself to this type of abuse regularly.

Ga LAist out.

LACC Swap Meet has been running in Los Angeles City College’s parking lot for nearly 30 years, but one of its owners says city officials are trying to destroy the business to support street vendors.

The owners are suing the city of L.A. for allegedly interfering with business and contractual relations at the swap meet. They claim the problems stem from Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who they say blocked sidewalk vending enforcement and other requests for help from the owners.

If they succeed with the lawsuit, which was filed in L.A. County Superior Court last week, they are asking for more than $30 million in damages.

Soto-Martinez told LAist he wants a solution for street vendors and the swap meet.

L.A. City Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to LAist’s requests for comment.

Why the lawsuit is happening

According to the lawsuit, the swap meet owners claim that Soto-Martinez has a “personal vendetta” against the swap meet’s co-owner, Phillip Dane, and is trying to get him removed from managing the swap meet.

They allege that Soto-Martinez used his influence to allow the vendors to keep working outside the venue even though city law prohibits them from doing so near swap meets.

“The vendors were encouraged to do this and were even assisted in doing this, by the City and its officials, including City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez,” the lawsuit reads.

It also says Dane called the Los Angeles Police Department multiple times to respond to problems with the street vendors, but his requests were blocked. His applications for temporary parking restrictions were denied as well.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, several vendors left the then-closed swap meet to set up on the sidewalk. As LAist reported, many didn’t return to the swap meet after it reopened, choosing to stay outside the college.

Some claimed Dane harassed them for doing so.

Sidewalk vending near L.A. City College has grown since then. Dane told LAist vendors are now on Marathon and Monroe streets, as well as Madison and Vermont avenues — too close to the college, he said.

Dane has asked the city to make the vendors move, which has upset some residents in the community. Since taking over, he’s faced allegations of being a gentrifier against street vendors.

Dane disagrees.

“Show me. How am I anti-street vending? By asking a vendor to please not set up right in front of the swap meet because you’re hurting your friends?” he told LAist.

The lawsuit claims that street vendors, led by Soto-Martinez, have left trash on the property and caused other problems creating “several million dollars” in damages each year.

The excessive foot traffic and cars drew away business, according to the lawsuit, lowering profits for the swap meet. It also says the owners have paid lower rent as a result, which Dane said has been happening for three years. Their rent is an unfixed amount based on profits.

The councilmember’s reaction

Nick Barnes-Batista, a spokesperson for Soto-Martinez, said his office wasn’t aware of the lawsuit until LAist reached out Friday.

The councilmember didn’t respond to specific claims in the suit but told LAist in a statement that as a son of street vendors, he understands the role they play in culture and the economy.

“It’s essential to bring together residents, vendors from inside and outside the swap meet, and LACC to build a system that supports safe vending while respecting the needs of the local community and the swap meet itself,” he said.

No court dates have yet been scheduled.

Members of a University of Southern California program are developing an AI program meant to help law enforcement agencies improve their interactions with the communities they serve.

The Everyday Respect Project partnered with the Los Angeles Police Department to analyze body camera footage of 1,000 random traffic stops. Now, they are using what they have found to train an AI model to look through countless hours of videos for critical elements of good policing — respect and de-escalation.

Benjamin Graham is an associate professor of political science at USC and helps to manage the project, which is being conducted by a team of professors, students and members of the community.

 ”LAPD conducts, give or take, a thousand stops a day,” Graham told LAist. He said those stops lead to thousands upon thousands of hours of body camera footage.

In most cases, Graham said, the body camera videos are uploaded to the cloud and never seen. He said only an automated program could sort through this rich source of data, analyze it and reveal the stories it holds.

With AI able to look through this data, Graham said police and sheriffs departments across the country could identify officers who are best able to communicate respectfully during traffic stops to be given promotions or training positions. They also could find the best techniques for officers to bring down the temperature in high-stress situations.

Georgetown University, the University of California, Riverside, and the University of Texas at Austin also are working with USC on the project.

What they’ve found so far

Graham told LAist researchers spoke with a wide range of community stakeholders, including community organizations that are critical of law enforcement and working police officers, to understand different perspectives of what separates a good traffic stop from a bad one.

They heard from thousands of Angelenos through surveys and interviews, reviewed LAPD training materials and rode along with officers on the streets. Graham said they focused on those diverse community perspectives throughout the project.

“ We have former law enforcement officers who are annotating this data,” he told LAist. “We have individuals who have been arrested before, and we have a lot of Angelenos from ... a range of ages, races, genders, professional backgrounds.”

Graham presented some of the Everyday Respect Project’s findings to the L.A. Board of Police Commissioners on Dec. 16.

He said researchers involved in the project analyzed 500 traffic stops in which LAPD officers conducted searches of the drivers they pulled over and another 500 stops in which there were no searches.

They found in cases when no search was conducted, some drivers were treated differently by officers based on their perceived race and wealth.

Researchers found that Black drivers were treated with more respect than Hispanic drivers. White drivers were pulled over least often, and the researchers did not find a significant difference between how white and non-white drivers were treated.

Of drivers who were stopped by police but weren’t searched, the researchers found those who were perceived as more wealthy also were treated with more respect by officers.

They did not find significant differences in how drivers were treated due to perceived race or wealth in stops in which searches were conducted.

Across all stops, the researchers found the more respect they perceived an officer showing to a driver they pulled over, the more legitimate the researchers would tend to rate the stop overall.

The LAPD has not responded to LAist’s request to comment on these findings.

Training AI to tell good traffic stops from bad

After analyzing and manually taking detailed notes on the first 1,000 traffic stops, Graham said the researchers are using what they’ve found to build an AI tool that can do the same thing — but is able to cover vastly more data and is accessible free of charge for any law enforcement agency.

To do this, Graham said team members use their notes as training data for the AI model.

By having humans label a number of things that happened or didn’t happen in videos of traffic stops, Graham told LAist, the AI model they are developing can learn to predict what humans will say about other videos.

“You're trying to train a model to do the same job that a human being does when it watches the video,” he said.

These notes include things like whether a search happened and at what time, whether officers explained the reason for the stop, if the driver complied with requests from the officer and any efforts by officers to de-escalate tense situations.

Graham said other companies have been working on AI tools to sell to departments, as well, but that the Everyday Respect Project is unique in its effort to build community perspectives into the program that will be fully open-source and open-science.

That means anyone can see exactly how the program works and the research behind it.

What could be coming next?

Graham said the Everyday Respect Project will be working through the winter and spring to improve the AI model and use it to analyze more LAPD bodycam videos. Then they will present their new findings to the police commissioners and release their AI model to the public.

It still is uncertain whether LAPD will use the Everyday Respect Project’s AI program once it is completed, but Captain Shannon White of LAPD’s Strategic Planning and Policies Division told the police commission Dec. 16 that the department looks forward to using the group’s research to spark “actionable change within the department.”

The LAPD has not responded to LAist’s questions about whether or how it will use the AI program once it is made available.

Graham told LAist other departments have shown interest in continuing to work with the Everyday Respect Project and the program in the future.

He said they may soon be working with the Rochester Police Department in New York on a trial to find the most effective de-escalation techniques for officers.

“ That's an incredible piece of learning that we can bring to improve policing, to improve officer safety, community safety, the whole nine yards,” Graham told LAist.

As of January, California is the first state in the country to partner with a nonprofit to develop, produce and sell its own insulin as a solution to the widespread unaffordability of the life-saving hormone that helps the body process or store blood sugar from food.

The nonprofit Civica will develop a CalRx Insulin Glargine pen – referred to as “biosimilar insulin,” meaning it references a U.S. Food & Drug Administration-approved product and has no “clinically meaningful differences from their reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency.”

This CalRx pen can be substituted for Lantus and other branded insulin glargine, according to a spokesperson from the state’s Department of Health Care Access and Information (HCAI).

“California didn’t wait for the pharmaceutical industry to do the right thing — we took matters into our own hands,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in an October news release about the CalRx insulin. “No Californian should ever have to ration insulin or go into debt to stay alive — and I won’t stop until health care costs are crushed for everyone.”

CalRx aims to be another competitor in the field by introducing a lower-cost alternative — and possibly put “pressure on other manufacturers to lower their prices as well.”

According to the state and Civica, the suggested retail price is:

• No more than $30 for a 10mL vial of insulin
• No more than $55 for a 5-pack of 3 mL pens

According to the HCAI spokesperson in an email to KQED, the “out-of-pocket cost may be lower, depending on insurance coverage.”

Advocates for people with diabetes see the production as a win.

“We look forward to the rollout of CalRx® insulin in January,” said Christine Fallabel, director of state government affairs at the American Diabetes Association, in an email to KQED. “Any meaningful step to improve insulin affordability and provide additional options is a win for people with diabetes.”

Fallabel also pointed to the recent passage of Senate Bill 40 — which prohibits high copayments for a month’s supply of insulin — as another state decision that helps with accessibility.

The initiative could provide major financial relief for nearly 3.5 million Californians who have been diagnosed with diabetes, a majority of whom have Type II diabetes – where the body cannot use insulin correctly. Type 1 is when the body produces little to no insulin.

Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes can impact energy levels and organ functions. Insulin shots – or, in some cases, diabetes pills – help with major body functions. The National Diabetes Statistics Report found that 38.4 million people have diabetes – almost 12% of the country’s population.

Read on to learn more about changes to the price of insulin in California, how prescriptions will work and where to find more resources.

What is the predicted price of CalRx Insulin?

Difficulty accessing affordable insulin — specifically buying it — in America is a well-documented and widespread issue due to a market dominated by three major companies.

Insulin is seven to 10 times more expensive in the United States compared to other countries, despite being affordable to produce, according to a 2023 article by the Yale School of Medicine. In fact, it explains that “the same vial of insulin that cost $21 in the U.S. in 1996 now costs upward of $250.”

What should I do if I am paying more than $55?

According to the HCAI spokesperson, “CalRx and Civica cannot mandate the final price to the consumer as this would conflict with antitrust and competition law.”

But the spokesperson stated in the email that Civica is planning to include a QR code on the side of the boxes, so consumers can report if they have paid more than $55 for the product.

“At which point Civica would contact the pharmacy for remediation,” the spokesperson said.

Where can I get CalRx insulin? Do I need a prescription?

You do not need to apply to access the new insulin, and there are no eligibility requirements. You do not need insurance.

“Broad wholesale distribution will allow any California pharmacy to order CalRx insulin glargine,” the state explained in the email. Mail-order pharmacy outreach is still ongoing.

People interested in the CalRx insulin can “ask their pharmacist or doctor if they can switch their prescription to CalRx insulin glargine,” continued the HCAI spokesperson. Since the CalRx insulin is interchangeable with other brand names, you would not need a new doctor’s prescription.

“Health plans will be responsible for communicating about CalRx insulin glargine with their provider and patient networks,” said HCAI.

Can people in other states access it?

According to the HCAI spokesperson, “Yes, Civica Rx’s glargine insulin will be available in other states under Civica Rx’s label.”

Where can I learn more information?

• CalRx website
• CalRx fact sheet
• American Diabetes Association’s Center for Information
• Insulin Basics for Diabetes
• Civica Insulin
• T1International

KQED’s April Dembosky contributed to this report.

The Department of Homeland Security is pausing the immigration applications from an additional 20 countries after an expansion of travel restrictions took effect Jan. 1.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, in a memo released Thursday, said it would pause the review of all pending applications for visas, green cards, citizenship or asylum from immigrants from the additional countries. The memo also outlines plans to re-review applications of immigrants from these countries as far back as 2021.

The list, which is composed mostly of countries in Africa, includes Angola, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

Last month, the Trump administration expanded the list of countries with travel restrictions to the U.S. from 19 to 39, plus the Palestinian Authority. The move comes as the administration is bringing sharper scrutiny of those who have followed legal steps to seek permanent status in the U.S.

"USCIS remains dedicated to ensuring aliens from high-risk countries of concern who have entered the United States do not pose risks to national security or public safety," the memo states as rational for the pause and reviews. "To faithfully uphold United States immigration law, the flow of aliens from countries with high overstay rates, significant fraud, or both must stop."

There are some exceptions outlined in the memo, including athletes and members of their teams competing in the World Cup and 2026 Olympics, both hosted by the U.S. this year.

The administration first suggested it would expand the restrictions after the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.

Towards the end of 2025, DHS began taking steps to further pause and review these legal avenues of migration. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that oversees processing of applications including for visas, naturalizations and asylum, announced it would re-review the status of everyone who had been admitted into the U.S. as a refugee under the Biden administration, essentially reopening those cases.

The agency also previously announced an indefinite pause in all processing of asylum applications while it works through its backlog.

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