The Brief

If you want to know what healthy snacks you'll be eating in the next few years, Anaheim Convention Center was the place to be last week, for Expo West, officially Natural Products Expo West.

Known as the Cannes Film Festival of natural nibbles, the SXSW of organic snacks, the Super Bowl of conscious Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Expo West is where global business gets done and the future of food is decided.

Over the four days — it started Tuesday and ended Friday — an estimated 65,000 people explored nearly 3,000 exhibitor booths. There was much to taste, from vegan cheeses to mini samosas to traditional chorizos to protein-dense waffles. It was hundreds of rows of tiny appetizers that don’t necessarily go together, but after you munch them all and the bites add up, you forget to eat lunch.

65,000 visitors are expected to visit Expo West

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I came prepared by meeting up with my friend Bob Goldberg, a pioneer of the health food scene and co-founder of Follow Your Heart. Goldberg has been coming to this conference every year since the first one in 1981.

“When you’re on the floor, the trend of the moment seems to come out," he said, noting that in the past the zeitgeisty word had been “organic” or “gluten-free.”

This year, it seemed the word was “functional,” as in, he said, “it’s not just a food, it does something for you.” With a laugh and as befits someone who’s seen everything over the years, “some of it’s real, and some of it’s unmitigated bull——.”

Out on the floor I saw the phrase in action. There was a Sati Soda with flavors like Clarity Lemon-Lime that described themselves as a “functional organic beverage line.” Eclipse Foods launched a brand of non-dairy Bon-Bons that “mimicked milk’s creamy molecular structure and functionality using plants.” I also saw a line of “Functional Mushroom Gummies” from NOON, which they say are “neuroscience-backed for Focus, Chill and Sleep.”

One of the many exhibitors showing their wares

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Upcycling

I also spotted a word I hadn’t connected to food before — “upcycling”.

At one panel, UC Davis professor Ned Spang hit us with cold, hard facts: one third of the food we produce is not eaten, accounting for $1 trillion in economic value and causing 8% to 10% of overall greenhouse emissions.

One solution: upcycling food that would otherwise be wasted — not just the food we throw away, but also the leftover byproducts of processed food production, like spent grain from a brewery, fruit rinds, coffee grounds and potato pulp.

Spang is using data to keep track of these leftovers, so innovators can use this raw material creatively — to make all new upcycled products.

It seems to be working. Back on the convention center floor, I tried some upcycled products, like Uglies Kettle Sweet Potato Chips. They’re made from potatoes that have small imperfections or may just be the wrong size or shape. Either way, I wouldn’t even have known because they tasted great.

I also saw Chee-Hoo, a Hawaiian dairy-free frozen dessert bar that upcycles bananas, RIND Snacks, freeze-dried fruit that uses upcycled produce, and Huxley, an energy drink made from the superfruit cascara, the antioxidant rich outer husk of a coffee bean.

Vegan steaks and mushroom meat 

I walked around the floor with Goldberg, who was looking for his Follow Your Heart head chef, Proof Fujiyama-Ahira. We found him munching away at the Chunk vegan steak booth. This is a frozen product that sells well at Follow Your Heart. They told the sales rep they’ve seen people walking out the door with four boxes at a time.

Chunk's Joe Loria told me that the meat substitute is a cultured soy and wheat protein that's fermented using a process called solid state fermentation that's been around for centuries and uses less energy.

I tried a sample of the Chunk steak with a chimichurri sauce. It really did taste like a hunk of beef, and later on I found myself picking pieces of the steak from my teeth, just like real meat. Loria said that Chunk is already on the menu at a steakhouse in Florida. It's clear fake steak is getting closer and closer to the texture and flavor of the real thing.

Chunk's vegan steak

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Bob had also told me to seek out a “great mycelium-based meat alternative” called Fynd.

Their explainer video felt like the beginning of a science fiction flick: "It all started in a volcano, millions of years ago actually, when a remarkable little microbe was born.” But they successfully cultivated this microbe found deep beneath Yellowstone National Park and turned it into a “complete protein with all 20 amino acids.”

I gave it a try. The breakfast patties tasted as savory as a mass-produced meat sausage that I claim as a guilty pleasure. The non-dairy yogurt tasted indistinguishable to me from the real thing.

Mushrooms grow incredibly fast and don’t require lots of energy or water to produce. This could become a major source of protein for masses of humans in a world of uncertain food stability. And it tastes really good.

Health trends come and go

Not all new products at Expo West are strictly healthy, however.

“Right now everyone is eating chia seeds and lentils, but in 20 years everyone is still gonna be eating Doritos and they’re still gonna be eating Tantos,” said Top Chef alum Joe Sasto. “We’re not a healthy or better for you snack, which everyone is doing. Health trends come and go."

Chef Joe Sasto and his Tantos brand

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He was there promoting his new line of puffed pasta chips, Tantos. They're seasoned with traditional Italian flavors like marinara, pesto, and cacio e pepe. Sasto says they're inspired by a “combination of my favorite food groups: pasta and nachos.”

I tried the marinara flavor. It was crunchy and savory and hit all the notes that a snack should deliver. I'd definitely eat it again.

This is no struggling start-up. Made in Burbank, Tantos officially launched last July. The chips are now available in 1,300 stores and in the sky with Jet Blue. Sasto and his partners came to Expo West to get their product into more places.

“So we’re hot, up and coming," he said. "Everybody loves pasta.”

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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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.