An antojitos plate from Amalia’s Restaurant in Koreatown; this plate contains: garnachas, enchiladas, taquitos, chuchito, chipilin tamale and maduros.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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Topline:
Across L.A., dishes like pepián, garnachas and tapado are moving from the margins to the mainstream. What was once hidden is now defining neighborhoods. These five restaurants capture that shift.
Why it matters: Los Angeles County is now home to the largest population of Guatemalans outside of Guatemala, with more than 280,000 residents as of 2025 — a roughly 35% increase over the past decade. As the community has grown, so has the visibility of its food, even as many Central American immigrants face increased immigration enforcement and political pressure.
Puchica Guatemalan Bar & Grill: Walk into Puchica and you’ll likely spot a wall of photographs — Lake Atitlán, Antigua, Tikal. There might be live Chapin music filling the room. There will definitely be some of the best Guatemalan food in L.A.
Read on... for more Guatemalan restaurants in L.A.
Four years ago, Adan Matul was selling a Guatemalan sweet bread called pan de Xela, out of a street cart in the San Fernando Valley. Now, Matul and his family run El Sabor Auténtico de Xela, a Guatemalan restaurant and bakery in Chatsworth.
Matul opened the restaurant in February with his partner, Yolanda Barrios, and her daughters, Hellen Rodas and Selena Barrios. The family works together every day to bring dishes and pastries from their ancestral home of Quetzaltenango.
“Everything we serve here is a reflection of our roots — the dishes our parents cooked, what we snacked on, the bread we had with our coffee,” Matul told The LA Local. “We want our bread and dishes to evoke memories of home, the warmth that we felt eating our mothers’ food.”
A basket of Guatemalan breads from El Sabor Auténtico de Xela.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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The demand that led to El Sabor Auténtico de Xela opening its doors reflects a broader shift in L.A. Los Angeles County is now home to the largest population of Guatemalans outside of Guatemala, with more than 280,000 residents as of 2025 — a roughly 35% increase over the past decade. As the community has grown, so has the visibility of its food, even as many Central American immigrants face increased immigration enforcement and political pressure.
“We’re living in a time where so much systemic harm has been done to our people,” Rodas said between greeting customers at the restaurant. “We’re told we need to assimilate to thrive in this country, and that mindset took so much of my cultural identity when I was a child. Part of my healing has happened through working here.”
Growing up Guatemalan American in Los Angeles, I know that feeling. For years, food from our homeland was hard to find — even in one of the most diverse food cities in the world.
That’s no longer the case.
Across L.A., dishes like pepián, garnachas and tapado are moving from the margins to the mainstream. What was once hidden is now defining neighborhoods.
These five restaurants capture that shift.
No. 5 Puchica Guatemalan Bar & Grill
Tapado, a Garifuna recipe popular among the Guatemalan community residing in the Caribbean coast, served with rice and a Mojarra Frita.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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Walk into Puchica and you’ll likely spot a wall of photographs — Lake Atitlán, Antigua, Tikal. There might be live Chapin music filling the room. There will definitely be some of the best Guatemalan food in L.A.
Owner Ronan Lurssen, a native of Suchitepéquez, and his wife, Taryn, have made it their mission to bring regional Guatemalan cooking to Los Angeles — and that means going beyond the usual menu.
Puchica is one of the few restaurants in the area serving tapado, a coconut-based seafood stew from Guatemala’s Caribbean coast. The dish traces back to Garifuna communities — Afro-Indigenous people whose roots come from West African survivors of shipwreck and the Indigenous Kalinago and Arawak people.
The tapado here delivers on that lineage. The broth is rich and creamy, the seafood layered with deep umami flavor. It arrives with rice and mojarra frita — a whole fish, scored, garlic-lime marinated and fried until the skin shatters and the meat pulls clean. The plate comes with tortillas to make fish tacos that you should definitely dip into the broth. It’s a dish that demands you slow down and find comfort in the experience of finishing everything on the plate.
San Fernando Valley 4523 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks
No. 4 Mi Cocinita Chapina
Carne Guisada from Mi Cocinita Chapina served with a salad, rice, and mash beans. The Guatemalan dish on the left corner is called Hilachas, a shredded beef stew.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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Mi Cocinita is a little hole in the wall that serves some of the best traditional Guatemalan dishes in the area. Nestled on the corner of Malvern Avenue and Venice Boulevard, it is known for its authentic Guatemalan breakfasts.
Put some pep in your step with Mi Cocinita’s desayuno tipico — eggs, savory mashed black beans, fried plantains, queso fresco and your choice of chorizo or puyaso steak, a cut of sirloin with a thick layer of fat.
You can also start your day here with carne guisada, a savory stew featuring beef simmered in a thick, rich gravy and potatoes.
Pico Union 1325 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles
No. 3 Amalia’s Restaurant
Sopa de Mariscos served with rice and the Plato Amalia’s with rice and homemade tortillas.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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Amalia’s Restaurant is a rarity in L.A. — a Guatemalan spot that’s been holding it down since 1994. Long before the current wave of regional Central American cooking, Amalia’s was serving Koreatown’s Guatemalan community, quietly becoming a neighborhood staple.
The sopa de mariscos is the move here. Built on a deeply seasoned tomato broth, the soup is loaded with fish, shrimp, crab and mussels, simmered down into something rich and restorative. It’s the kind of dish that hits immediately — briny, citrusy, just enough lime to cut through the depth.
If you’re hungover, it’ll fix you. If you’re not, it’ll still feel like it did.
Koreatown 4210 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles
No. 2 Shucos LA
Shucos’s churrasco plate offered a variety of assorted meats served with a Russian salad, rice, beans and homemade guacamole. The bistec encebollado at the top with Agua de Jamaica.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
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Shucos started as a backyard setup near Jefferson Boulevard and 41st Street in 2020. Within a few years, it grew into a storefront in Commerce, fueled in part by a steady rise on TikTok, where staff showcased their Guatemalan-style hot dogs to a wider audience.
Those hot dogs — known as shucos — are a staple of Guatemala’s street food scene. Built on a toasted bun, they’re loaded with grilled meats, guacamole, cabbage, grilled onions and the classic trio of ketchup, mayo and mustard. Messy, smoky and fully loaded, they eat more like a full meal than a snack.
But the menu goes deeper. Shucos also serves a range of traditional dishes, including bistec encebollado, salpicón de res, pollo en crema and churrasco.
The churrasco features meats that are tender with a strong char, the seasoning pulling everything together without overpowering it. On the side, garnachas — crisp, saucy and so delicious, they were consumed in a matter of minutes.
South LA 753 E. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles (closed on Mondays, cash only)
Southeast LA 2470 S. Atlantic Blvd., Commerce
No. 1 El Sabor Auténtico de Xela
A shuco mixto from El Sabor Auténtico de Xela. A shuco is a street food staple from Guatemala that combines multiple meats in a single toasted bun. Above left is carne adobada and above right is Pepián.
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Andrea G. Mendez Ochoa
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The LA Local
)
A true one-stop shop for Guatemalan food, El Sabor Auténtico de Xela earns the top spot on this list. The restaurant and bakery showcases dishes from the Quetzaltenango region alongside a lineup of nostalgic snacks like Tortrix chips and Chiky cookies and sodas like Tiky.
Matul often points first-timers to the Pepián, Guatemala’s national dish. The stew is rich and layered, rooted in both Mayan and Spanish traditions, with slow-cooked meats and vegetables in a thick sauce made from roasted tomatoes, tomatillos and toasted seeds. It’s served with rice and tortillas — simple on paper, deeply complex in flavor.
Rodas recommends the caldo de res, a hearty beef soup packed with corn, cabbage, zucchini and potatoes. It’s the kind of dish that hits even on a 100-degree day.
But the standout is the carne adobada. The meat is tender, deeply seasoned, with a subtle smokiness that lingers. It’s served with Russian salad and Guatemalan chow mein — a local adaptation shaped by Chinese immigrants in the late 19th century that has since become a staple of the cuisine.
San Fernando Valley 21818 Devonshire St., Chatsworth
Guatemalan food: a glossary
Key terms from this guide, in order of appearance.
Breads & snacks
Pan de Xela (bread)
A sweet bread from Quetzaltenango (nicknamed Xela), Guatemala’s second-largest city. A staple of Guatemalan bakeries, traditionally eaten alongside coffee.
Tortrix (snack)
Guatemala’s most beloved snack chip — a crunchy, corn-based curl that has become a national icon. A nostalgic staple for Guatemalan Americans far from home.
Chiky cookies (snack)
A popular Guatemalan sandwich cookie, similar in format to an Oreo but with a distinctly local flavor. A comfort food shorthand for Guatemalan childhood.
Breakfast
Desayuno típico (breakfast)
The classic Guatemalan breakfast plate: eggs, savory mashed black beans, fried plantains, and queso fresco, with a choice of chorizo or puyaso steak.
Puyaso (meat)
A cut of sirloin with a thick layer of fat, common in Guatemalan breakfast plates. Grilled or pan-fried, it’s prized for its richness and char.
Carne guisada (stew)
Beef simmered in a thick, rich gravy with potatoes — a hearty stew served at breakfast or as a main dish. A comforting staple across Central American home cooking.
Soups & stews
Tapado (seafood stew)
A rich, coconut-based seafood stew from Guatemala’s Caribbean coast, rooted in Garifuna culinary tradition. The Garifuna are an Afro-Indigenous people descended from West African shipwreck survivors and the Indigenous Kalinago and Arawak. Served with rice and whole fried fish.
Pepián (national dish)
Guatemala’s national dish — a slow-cooked meat and vegetable stew in a thick sauce of roasted tomatoes, tomatillos, and toasted seeds. Rooted in both Mayan and Spanish culinary traditions. Served with rice and tortillas.
Sopa de mariscos (seafood soup)
A deeply seasoned tomato-based soup loaded with fish, shrimp, crab, and mussels. Briny, citrusy, and restorative — the signature dish at Amalia’s.
Caldo de res (beef soup)
A hearty beef soup packed with corn, cabbage, zucchini, and potatoes. A restorative Guatemalan staple — the kind of dish that works in any season.
Mains
Mojarra frita (seafood)
A whole fish — scored, marinated in garlic and lime, and fried until the skin shatters and the meat pulls clean. Often served alongside tapado with tortillas for dipping into the broth.
Carne adobada (meat)
Meat marinated and slow-cooked in a seasoned adobo sauce until deeply tender, with a subtle smokiness. At El Sabor Auténtico de Xela, it’s served with Russian salad and Guatemalan chow mein.
Ensalada rusa (side dish)
Literally “Russian salad” — diced potatoes, carrots, and peas bound in mayonnaise, brought to Guatemala through European influence and now fully adopted into the local table. A common accompaniment to grilled and adobo-style meats.
Churrasco (grilled meat)
Grilled beef with a strong char and deep seasoning — a staple of Guatemalan grills. At Shucos LA, it arrives tender with seasoning that pulls everything together without overpowering.
Bistec encebollado (meat)
Thin-cut steak smothered in grilled onions — a simple, satisfying classic found across Guatemalan and Central American menus.
Salpicón de res (meat)
Shredded or finely chopped beef salad dressed with lime, mint, and radish. Bright and refreshing, it’s a common fixture on Guatemalan menus.
Pollo en crema (chicken)
Chicken braised in a rich cream sauce, often with peppers and onions. A mild, comforting Guatemalan staple.
Guatemalan chow mein (noodles)
A local adaptation of Chinese chow mein, shaped by Chinese immigrant communities in Guatemala in the late 19th century. It has since been fully absorbed into the national cuisine and commonly appears as a side dish.
Street food
Shucos (street food)
Guatemala’s signature street hot dog — a toasted bun loaded with grilled meats, guacamole, cabbage, grilled onions, and the classic trio of ketchup, mayo, and mustard. Messy, smoky, and substantial enough to eat as a full meal.
Garnachas (street food)
Crisp fried tortillas topped with a savory sauce — a beloved Guatemalan street snack. At Shucos LA, they arrive alongside the churrasco and disappear quickly.
Just days before the start of school, some California State University students were still waiting to find out how much they’re getting in grants and loans, and university officials are blaming the federal government for those delays. But despite a flurry of social media complaints about the delays, student leaders and university officials point to no major abnormalities
2026 changes to federal aid: The culprit is a change implemented in April by the U.S. Office of Federal Student Aid to update its fraud protections. The move was in response to the 2025 Republican-approved One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some universities, including Cal State, received federal files on how much aid students would receive five to six weeks later than usual. The delay meant that an unknown number of students got their precise financial aid amounts mere weeks before the start of the school year. Some students didn’t find out what their aid amounts were until after the deadline to pay tuition. Cal State campuses had provisions in place to keep students enrolled who didn’t pay if their financial aid awards were pending.
Other reasons for the delay: One may be that those students applied for financial aid well into summer rather than in late winter. Another may be that they were selected to undergo an audit of their family finances to ensure they’re eligible for financial aid. Or their grades are too low to continue receiving aid and they must appeal to the school to restore their eligibility. Other students may experience a sudden loss of personal or family finances that isn’t captured in the income data they filed in their aid applications.
Just days before the start of school, some California State University students were still waiting to find out how much they’re getting in grants and loans, and university officials are blaming the federal government for those delays. But despite a flurry of social media complaints about the delays, student leaders and university officials point to no major abnormalities
Every summer brings fresh confusion to some students whose financial aid is less than they anticipated or who didn’t notice an important email, but this summer added a new hardship: Not knowing how much actual aid they’d get.
The culprit is a change implemented in April by the U.S. Office of Federal Student Aid to update its fraud protections. The move was in response to the 2025 Republican-approved One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Some universities, including Cal State, received federal files on how much aid students would receive five to six weeks later than usual.
The delay meant that an unknown number of students got their precise financial aid amounts mere weeks before the start of the school year. Some students didn’t find out what their aid amounts were until after the deadline to pay tuition. Cal State campuses had provisions in place to keep students enrolled who didn’t pay if their financial aid awards were pending.
That this occurred in the middle of the financial aid cycle “is very unusual,” said April Grommo, an assistant vice chancellor for strategic enrollment management at the California State University Chancellor’s Office.
The delay in receiving information about aid amounts is separate from actually getting federal grants and loans. Federal rules prohibit students from receiving their actual financial aid until within 10 days of the start of the school year. Cal State classes begin this month.
The student experience
A handful of users of the social media tool Reddit posted about their FAFSA delays at Cal State. One user from Cal State Fullerton wrote on Aug. 1 that “I'm very concerned because the semester begins the 22nd of August … and I do not want to be dropped from any courses.” Other redditors at Fullerton echoed that worry. Similar posts were found at subreddits for San Jose State, Cal State Long Beach and Cal State Northridge.
The delay didn’t affect students who applied using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, by the state’s priority deadline of March 2, Grommo said.
But the sheer volume of aid going to students at Cal State is immense — some $5.5 billion was disbursed last year to more than 385,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Campus financial aid employees worked overtime to compensate for the federal delays, Grommo said. Several Cal State schools are shortstaffed, compounding the delay in getting information to students.
Another change in the 2025 federal law placed lower caps on how much students and their parents could borrow for college. Those caps went into effect this year, likely catching off guard some students who relied on loans. Still, some 65% of undergraduates who earn a bachelor’s degree at Cal State graduate without loan debt.
The system’s undergraduate student government, the California State Student Association, hasn’t detected a major uptick in student complications, despite the confusion, said Joe Nino, the association’s executive director. “At this time, CSSA is not aware of this being a widespread issue,” he wrote by email. “To our knowledge, there are protections in place to ensure students won't be dropped from their classes due to FAFSA delays.”
Sydney Yee is the vice president of Cal State Fullerton’s student government. The rising senior and finance major said the student government office hadn’t received any complaints from students about nonresponsive campus officials. She too had questions about her financial aid package and called the school’s financial aid office over the summer to receive guidance she found useful.
Redditors also advised frustrated students to call their campus financial aid office and be persistent.
“Something I think that the financial aid (staff) has done very well here has been staying very proactive with these delays,” Yee said in an interview, pointing to explanatory emails as well as Instagram posts that explained why some students received dropped course notifications on their accounts and why those holds were lifted.
Grommo explained that the notification was meant to give students peace of mind. If the drop hold was lifted and they’re still enrolled, that means the campus concluded the student is in good financial standing.
Jessicca Barco, associate vice president for strategic enrollment management at Cal State Fullerton, added that normally returning students would learn their financial aid amounts between May and June. The information is provided near the end of the academic year to ensure students meet federal grade requirements to continue receiving aid. The federal delay meant some 23,000 returning students received their aid information last Friday. The campus moved back the deadline to pay for tuition to Aug. 19, Barco added. For many students it’s typically in mid-July.
Reasons for getting financial aid late
As for why some students may get their federal financial aid late — some students in the past received theirs as late as October — Grommo cited several factors.
One may be that those students applied for financial aid well into summer rather than in late winter. Another may be that they were selected to undergo an audit of their family finances to ensure they’re eligible for financial aid. Or their grades are too low to continue receiving aid and they must appeal to the school to restore their eligibility. Other students may experience a sudden loss of personal or family finances that isn’t captured in the income data they filed in their aid applications.
“The majority of students go through the process just fine, but of course, the small group that does not go through the process fine, those are the really major issues,” Grommo said.
Her advice to students: Make sure their school email account is set up in case the campus is only emailing them there rather than their personal account and to keep calling their school’s financial aid office.
Cal State Fullerton students got their financial aid disbursements Wednesday.
Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach on Oct. 17, 2018.
(
John Robinson
)
Topline:
After 70 years as the epicenter of Long Beach football, the iconic Veterans Memorial Stadium will be demolished later this month to make way for a modern replacement, slated for completion in 2029.
More details: The $250 million transformation will have an 18-acre footprint and include a new stadium that pays homage to the original as well as a massive sports complex featuring a 2,500-seat arena, fields for football, soccer and track, basketball and volleyball courts, athletic training and rehab facilities, offices, kinesiology classrooms and a hall of champions. The project is funded by Measure LB, an $850 million bond measure that finances LBCC construction.
Why it matters: The leveling of Vets Stadium closes a celebrated chapter of Long Beach history. The stadium hosted high-profile local and national sporting events, served as a movie set for Evel Knievel and became woven into the fabric of the city. It has accommodated countless graduations, and Long Beach City College and numerous area high schools will have to relocate their commencement ceremonies during construction.
Read on... for more on what the stadium meant to Long Beach.
After 70 years as the epicenter of Long Beach football, the iconic Veterans Memorial Stadium will be demolished later this month to make way for a modern replacement, slated for completion in 2029.
The $250 million transformation will have an 18-acre footprint and include a new stadium that pays homage to the original as well as a massive sports complex featuring a 2,500-seat arena, fields for football, soccer and track, basketball and volleyball courts, athletic training and rehab facilities, offices, kinesiology classrooms and a hall of champions. The project is funded by Measure LB, an $850 million bond measure that finances LBCC construction.
The leveling of Vets Stadium closes a celebrated chapter of Long Beach history. The stadium hosted high-profile local and national sporting events, served as a movie set for Evel Knievel and became woven into the fabric of the city. It has accommodated countless graduations, and Long Beach City College and numerous area high schools will have to relocate their commencement ceremonies during construction.
Graduation caps fly in the air after the completion of the Wilson High School commencement ceremony at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach Monday, June 14, 2022.
(
Thomas R. Cordova
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Long Beach Post
)
From its inception, Vets Stadium was intended to be a monument for the people of Long Beach, living and dead. During World War II, seventeen homesick soldiers stationed in the South Pacific wrote a letter home to Long Beach, which appeared on the front page of a 1945 edition of the Press-Telegram. As alums of Poly and Wilson high schools, the soldiers implored the city to build a stadium and dedicate it to those who “went beyond the final yard marker” — including their own classmates who had died.
They enclosed $75 as their contribution to the proposed stadium, and the city took it from there, passing a $550,000 bond measure to fund construction. By 1950, the city had erected a colossal arena (significantly over budget, forcing the city to dip into its special projects fund) with 12,500 east-facing seats, the Press-Telegram reported. It boasted a double-decker press box, equipped with a snack bar and its own toilets — a state-of-the-art facility meant to attract visitors to Long Beach, according to a 1951 publication in the public library’s archives.
“The sheer capacity of it was such a big deal,” and it became a significant regional stage, said Mike Guardabascio, sports reporter and editor at The 562 and author of the book “Football in Long Beach.”
The stadium’s size meant it could accommodate state track and field championships, college and pro football, motorcycle racing, roller derby and rugby. It became the site of holiday food drives, large-scale swap meets, Covid-19 vaccinations and the distribution of emergency sandbags.
Yet its defining identity has been the heartbeat of high school football. Even after Long Beach City College acquired the venue from the city for $1 in 1987, Vets was the home stadium for Poly High School’s powerhouse program.
Few events in Long Beach draw tens of thousands of fans, Guardabascio said. But high school football games had a magnetic pull, and spectators consistently sold out the stadium, he said.
Veterans Memorial Stadium at Long Beach City College on Thursday, July 7, 2022.
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Brandon Richardson
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Long Beach Post
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The noise coming from the stands was deafening — “like nothing else that you would ever hear,” Guardabascio said. He was a senior in high school at the time and remembered how much attention was dialed into the game. “You just had that feeling of Long Beach being the center of the world,” he said.
In the years since, as other large sports arenas became options, Vets Stadium became less of a go-to choice in the region, Guardabascio said. And the structure is now crumbling — pieces of concrete are falling off the back; a hole in the floor of the press box bathroom offers a window to the ground several stories below, he said.
The rebuild could reassert the city as a central player in the wider sports scene, Guardabascio said. He pointed to the exceptional sports facility upgrades Long Beach City College has already executed, including its pool and beach volleyball courts.
Still, the demolition of a symbol for the city weighs heavily on some. “Our whole football history runs through that place,” Guardabascio said. “Everyone who grew up caring about sports and football in Long Beach has memories of being there.”
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Elly Yu
reports on early childhood. From housing to health, she covers issues facing the youngest Angelenos and their families.
Published August 14, 2026 5:00 AM
Childcares have been losing older preschoolers which have traditionally helped subsidize younger kids.
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Elly Yu
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LAist
)
Topline:
Childcare providers in California are struggling to stay afloat, as they’re losing enrollment to transitional kindergarten. That’s according to a new report from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley. And the upshot is that it could make child care in California even harder to find.
The backstory: The state fully implemented a new grade for 4-year-olds called transitional kindergarten last school year. But private child cares are losing that enrollment.
Why it matters: Between 2019 and 2025, about 1,100 preschools have closed across California. Experts say parents will have fewer options to choose from if the trend continues for their children 4 and under.
Parents could soon be headed for an even bigger child care crunch in California, experts say.
That’s because the rollout of a new grade for 4-year-olds in the state’s public schools is having unintended consequences for child care businesses, according to a new report by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at UC Berkeley.
Child cares have historically cared for children 5 and under, but the report found they’re losing more 4- and 5-year-olds to transitional kindergarten, a universal option that was fully implemented last school year.
Sue Carrera, who runs a home daycare in Inglewood, said that before the pandemic, she had an average of 12 kids enrolled in her program. Now, she has only four — the lowest since she opened up her business in 2008 — as she’s seen children move to the public school system earlier.
“ I don't really see myself staying in this business for any lengthy period of time,” she said.
The way that part of the child care business model worked was that older-age preschool children have helped subsidize the cost of caring for infants and toddlers, who are more expensive to care for, said Anna Powell, the report’s lead author.
“ When we're tinkering with a model where there's — ‘it already kind of barely makes ends meet’ — it absolutely can cause big ripple effects and potentially lead to system-level closures,” Powell said.
The report, which used a survey of thousands of child care providers, found that at child cares based at facilities, average enrollment of 4- to 5-year-olds fell by five children from 2023 to 2025. It also found that at the same time, providers haven’t been able to make an easy shift to caring for more babies. The teacher to child ratio is higher for infants (1 to 4) than for older preschoolers (1 to 12).
“ There's no resources to help them buy cribs that they didn't need before, and now suddenly they must have on site. There's no resources for educators who are used to, after decades, working with 4- and 5-year-olds, learning, 'How do I need to adapt my craft to work with these younger children?’” Powell said.
The study recommends California invest in the early education system in the same way it has invested in transitional kindergarten.
If more preschools close down the line, it could mean families may struggle more to find child care in an already scarce environment, said Debra Coleman, director of the L.A. County Office for the Advancement of Early Care and Education.
In 2022, there were licensed spaces in L.A. County to be able to serve only 4% of children under 2 years old.
“If you have less options, you will have less choices of where to go. It might impact the capacity,” Coleman said. “ It might take us from a very fragile system to a fractured system.”
Lucas Brady Woods
covers the weather and disasters, among other climate and science topics.
Published August 13, 2026 5:08 PM
A low pressure system is bringing mild, cloudy weather to Southern California this weekend, with heat expected to return next week.
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Apu Gomes
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Getty Images
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Topline:
Forecasters say Southern California will be relatively cool and cloudy for the next few days after a summer of repeated heat waves.
The details: Highs along the coast will be in the 70s over the next few days. Inland areas of L.A. and Orange counties will get up to the 80s. The cloud cover will likely be widespread on Friday and much of Saturday, but concentrated mostly in the morning hours and along the coast.
The science: A system of low pressure air has moved into the region. Low pressure systems force air to rise, and as air rises it cools. It also eventually condenses, often forming cloud cover. Meanwhile, a deep marine layer and onshore winds are helping push those clouds farther inland.
Read on … to learn how long this reprieve from the heat will last.
Southern California is getting a dose of unseasonably cool weather — a welcome break after a series of hot, humid heat waves over the last few months.
Lower than normal temperatures are expected to stick around through the weekend.
Highs along the coast will be in the 70s over the next few days. Inland areas of L.A. and Orange counties will get up to the 80s. Even the Inland Empire is expected to peak at about 90 degrees on Friday.
The cooler temperatures are also expected to come with cloudy skies across the region.
The cloud cover will likely be widespread on Friday and much of Saturday, but concentrated mostly in the morning hours and along the coast, where skies could stay cloudy through the afternoon.
The cool, mild conditions won’t last long, though.
Forecasters say temperatures will start to tick back up on Saturday. They will stay below normal seasonal levels for a few days, but the summer heat will be back by the middle of next week.
So this weekend might be a good time to go on a hike or host that barbecue.
Low pressure equals mild temperatures
The cool weather is a pretty stark change.
Just a few weeks ago, the National Weather Service was issuing warnings across Southern California for extreme heat and predicting nearly record-breaking temperatures. Now, atmospheric conditions have shifted.
Much of that suffocating heat was driven by a massive system of high pressure air hovering over the Southwestern U.S.
High pressure systems trap warm air beneath them and compress it, further warming the air and preventing cooler air from displacing it.
This week, the high pressure system finally loosened its grip.
“That ridge of high pressure kind of broke down, and then a trough of low pressure developed off and along the coast of California,” said Devin Black, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
Low pressure systems force air to rise, and as air rises it cools. It also eventually condenses, often forming cloud cover.
That’s one reason behind the clouds in Southern California this week.
Meanwhile, a deep marine layer and onshore winds are helping push those clouds farther inland. Forecasters note that the low pressure system and onshore winds are also keeping humidity levels up.
Despite the cloud cover and moisture, it’s unlikely there will be much, if any, rain. Some minimal precipitation could be possible in Ventura and Santa Barbara county mountains.
The low pressure system and marine layer will start to shrink on Saturday, allowing heat-generating high pressure to move back into the region.
