The Brief

In early December, husband and wife team Tyler and Ashley Wells opened their new restaurant, Bernee, on Mariposa Street in Altadena.

It was their dream restaurant, envisioned after a successful run with their Los Feliz restaurant, All Time. A back-to-basics menu that changed daily, with most of the food prepared on an open wood-burning hearth.

For the first few weeks, the restaurant was a success, packed every night. Their personal lives did not go as smoothly — during this time, Ashley and Tyler decided to part ways as a couple.

Tyler moved into a small backhouse on the east side of Altadena, overlooking Eaton Canyon. But he would only spend a total of four nights there, because on Jan. 7, while he was at the restaurant, the Eaton Fire began sweeping through. His was one of the first houses to burn down.

The restaurant survived. But with smoke damage, and a hardware store next door filled with hazardous materials, it wasn’t safe to reopen.

“It was a heavy moment, and I felt helpless,” Wells said. “My first instinct was to accept that I was done in L.A., the restaurant wouldn't reopen, and I had no house. It felt like the universe was trying to tell me something,” he said.

Heavy smoke engulfed the block where their restaurant, Bernee, was located. Despite the devastation, the building remained standing.

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Courtesy Tyler Wells

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Before the fires, he’d been working 17-hour days at the restaurant, an intensity he had brought to his previous time at Handsome Coffee Roasters in downtown L.A. and All Time. While he loved what he had built, the loss of his marriage and now the community made him realize he needed to slow down, reassess his life, and make a change.

The Ecology Center

The change Wells sought appeared about 70 miles south, at a place called the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano. The 28-acre, regenerative, and organic-certified farm was founded by Evan Marks in 2008. Wells and Marks already had an established relationship, with Wells regularly purchasing produce from the farm and hosting occasional dinners.

“ The first time I set foot on this place, it changed me,” Wells said.

Wells had always been impressed by the scope of the operation, with fresh produce sold daily to the public, and served at a cafe and a restaurant space. Apprentices also learn the fundamentals of growing and harvesting organic produce, as well as running a farm stand.

When Marks learned that Wells was struggling, he called him regularly to check in. Realizing he had nowhere to go, Marks offered him a residency at the center, where he could live on the grounds.

Diners enjoy meals at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, where Chef Tyler Wells has been hosting his summer dinner series.

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Danielle Evonne Photography

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Courtesy The Ecology Center

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An open fire is utilized to cook sustainably-caught local fish, two aspects of Chef Tyler Wells' culinary practice at The Ecology Center.

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Danielle Evonne Photography

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Courtesy The Ecology Center

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It would take some convincing on Mark's part to get Wells to admit that he needed help, despite the humbling experience he had just gone through. Still, Wells understood that if he was going to make a change, he had to take a chance.

“ The moment when the universe just sat me down and said, 'No, you can't. You're physically unable to do anything. You don't even own pants.' The love that I was forced to receive and ultimately submit to changed my life, and that was from this farm,” Wells said.

He made a home for himself in a tent between two orange trees. Slowly, the residency evolved into him hosting an ongoing dinner series three days a week throughout the summer.

He said it was some of the most challenging work he’d ever faced as a chef, with the food cooked over an open fire in the fields, and an abundance of produce each week forcing him to constantly modify the menu.

But, he added, it ultimately helped him grow his skills and develop a closer connection to the land.

" I think there's a maturity and a confidence in my cooking that has never been there before,” he said.

The Farm Lettuce Caesar salad from Chef Tyler Wells's summer diner series at The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano.

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Gab Chabrán

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LAist

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Locally caught swordfish served with blistered cherry tomatoes and summer squash.

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Gab Chabrán

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LAist

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When I visited the Ecology Center recently, I had the chance to try some of his dishes. A massive Caesar salad made with little gem lettuce that had been picked that morning, accompanied by a beautifully creamy dressing. A locally caught swordfish topped with blistered cherry tomatoes and a summer squash salad finished with salsa verde.

It was a perfect summer meal in a place that felt like a blend of a chaparral oasis and a modern commune, with the sun setting over the hills and the Grateful Dead playing on the outdoor sound system.

“It's almost, man, this is spiritual. This farm is turning me into a hippie, and I grew up straight edge punk rock on a skateboard,” Wells reflected. “Sometimes I'll just feel some ingredients that need to go together…. my intuition, I think my mind is so clear, it's so uncluttered with other things."

Bernee becomes Betsy

Wells is now wrapping up his time at the Ecology Center and has shifted his focus back to his original dream. He’s now the sole owner of Bernee and he has been busy reimagining it.

It has a new name — Betsy, his mother’s name — but it's at the exact location on Mariposa Street, just across the street from the recently reopened Miya Thai. 

Betsy is set to open on Saturday, Aug. 30, marking a homecoming for both Wells and his staff. He’s brought back 12 members of his original team, including the entire front-of-house and kitchen staff.

Chef Tyler Wells and Joey Messina, a member of the original Bernee staff, who's returned to help lead the kitchen at Betsy.

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Skandia Shafer

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Courtesy Tyler Wells

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The menu is similar to Bernee, but with a stronger emphasis on sustainable seafood, another unexpected result of his time at the farm.

“I never had these deep relationships with fishermen, and now we do,” he said. “It’s just so exciting to me to know when it came out of the ocean, who caught it. Just the freshness and the quality are unbelievable."

Although he initially planned to wait until late fall to open, after talking with his staff and other community members, reopening now just felt right.

“The town feels good, and this crew is ready, and I couldn’t risk tearing that apart,” said Wells.

A warming trend kicks in for the region today that will raise temperatures 10 to 20 degrees above normal by next week.

Highs for L.A. and Orange County coasts will get up to around 70 degrees.

Valley communities will see highs mostly in the mid 60s to low 70s.

Inland Empire temperatures will range from 63 to 71 degrees. Coachella Valley temps will drop down to 61 degrees. In the Antelope Valley, we're looking at highs in the mid 50s.

Wind advisories

The San Gabriel, Santa Susana, Santa Monica mountains are under wind advisories until 3 p.m. Thursday.

We're looking at wind speeds from 35 to 45 mph, with some gusts up to 55 mph.

Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu and parts of Ventura County are also under a wind advisory until 3 p.m. Wind speeds there will range from 25 to 35 mph, with some gusts up to 45 mph.

Look out for fallen tree limbs. The recently rain-soaked ground could make it easier for entire trees to fall. Some power outages could also occur.

Beach hazards

You'll want to avoid swimming in the ocean because of strong rip currents and breaking waves from high surf. Minor flooding of beach parking lots is possible. These conditions will last until Friday morning for the Orange County coast, and until Saturday morning for L.A. County beaches.

Bryan Fuller probably is best known for creating television shows like Pushing Daisies and Hannibal — shows with devoted fans, many of whom still hope for series comebacks.

But when Fuller first came to Los Angeles to go to film school at USC in the 1990s, things didn’t go as planned.

After running out of financial aid, he had to drop out. But by staying in L.A. and taking odd jobs, like delivering head shots to casting directors at night, Fuller told LAist he still got an education in the industry.

Getting a foothold in L.A.

“There were a couple of times when I was delivering head shots that I would just see that they're in the middle of auditions, and I put my name down and I would go in and audition,” Fuller says. “Just because I was there and sort of fearless at that time and didn’t know what I should or should not do.”

That same fearlessness helped lead to his first writing job, for Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. His unusual job-seeking tactic: “ I would pull up to the gate and say I was a delivery person and slide story ideas under the doors of Star Trek producers until they hired me.”

Fuller went on to work on Star Trek: Voyager, and in the early 2000s, he created his first original series, Dead Like Me, for Showtime.

As he got a foothold in the industry and went on to create other shows, as an openly gay writer and producer, Fuller took pride in infusing his stories with queer themes, something he would become known for (and touch on directly in an Achievement Award acceptance speech at Outfest in 2017).

Gateway horror, queer horror and the origins of ‘Dust Bunny’

In 2022, he executive produced a docuseries called Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror, and his latest project, the film Dust Bunny, which he wrote and marks his feature directorial debut, feels like a natural progression.

Part fairy tale, part thriller (or “gateway horror” as Fuller also describes it) the film is about a little girl who hires a hit man to kill the monster under her bed.

And while it might not seem like a queer story on its face, Fuller says it could be interpreted as one.

“Whenever I see a child championing themselves,” Fuller says, “that feels like a queer story. Because so many times, we as queer children have to become our own heroes and have to become our own champions.”

Sophie Sloane and Mads Mikkelsen in a scene from "Dust Bunny," written and directed by Bryan Fuller.

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Gabor Kotschy

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Courtesy Roadside Attractions

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But the story is also universal, which was by design.

Fuller explains: “There's a line in Dust Bunny where Aurora, played by Sophie Sloan [...] says, ‘My parents weren’t very nice to me,’ and that was designed to be a little unclear so the audience could see themselves in Aurora, whatever that means to them.”

Having a film or TV show that makes you feel seen, Fuller says, “I think is valuable not only for queer people, but for any child who feels that they may not belong or feels that they may not have a support system.”

The role of queer storytellers

Asked whether the Trump administration’s targeting of the LGBTQ community, particularly trans people, has changed his perspective on his role as a queer storyteller, Fuller was reflective.

“I think queer people have always encountered some kind of resistance that gives us friction," Fuller says. "And with that friction, there are sparks and growth, and that scar tissue is necessary to build an armor, particularly when we're looking at these stories through a fictional lens. They allow us to build upper resistance to real-life threats.”

Fuller says it also connects to his love of horror.

“It's one of the reasons I love horror movies and I love the thematic of 'the final girl,'" Fuller says. “Because I look at those movies as — if [Friday the 13th actresses] Amy Steele and Adrienne King can survive Crystal Lake, then I can survive my adversaries.”

To watch Bryan Fuller’s full interview with LAist host Julia Paskin, about "Dust Bunny," what he thinks it would take to keep more film and TV production here in Los Angeles and his ideas for a new ‘Star Trek’ movie, click here.

Today marks the final deadline for California counties to certify the results of the special election on Proposition 50, the ballot measure to redraw California’s congressional maps through 2030.

Statewide, turnout was 50%, with “yes” votes winning with 64.4%.

The Associated Press called the vote within minutes of polls closing Nov. 4, but the official vote count takes several weeks. The California Secretary of State now has until Dec. 12 to certify the full results.

Here’s what we know about turnout and the vote margin across Southern California.

Did the vote margin change?

Not really.

In many races, the vote margin narrows or widens as the count goes on, but Prop. 50 stayed remarkably consistent. The margin we saw on election night is pretty much what still stands. As of this morning, 64.4% of ballots counted voted “yes,” while 35.6% were “no.”

What was turnout like?

Voters notoriously do not show up for off-year elections in the same numbers as, say, a presidential election.

But given how consequential Prop. 50 was, there was a lot of curiosity about how many voters would actually participate. About 11.6 million people showed up for the special election — a turnout of 50% statewide.

It’s not as high as California’s last special election in 2021 on whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom — turnout then was 58.4%. But it’s a solid showing for California, especially for an off-year special election. In fact, it’s on par with California’s 2022 midterm elections, which saw 50.8% turnout.

Here’s the voter turnout breakdown among Southern California’s six counties — this is pending final certification from the state:

• Imperial County: 35.8%
• L.A. County: 44.9%
• Orange County: 52.3%
• Riverside County: 45.9%
• San Bernardino County: 44.2%
• Ventura County: 55.3%

Where did ‘yes’ and ‘no’ votes come from across SoCal?

“Yes” won the majority of the vote in all six Southern California counties — Imperial, L.A., Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. The margin was the widest in L.A. County, where “yes” had 74.3% of the vote. The smallest was in Orange County, with “yes” votes at 55.5%.

If you’re curious to dig further into the details, here’s a breakdown of the vote by city in Orange County and a preliminary map of what the vote looked like across L.A. County neighborhoods.