Gab Chabrán
covers what's happening in food and culture for LAist.
Published January 9, 2026 3:52 PM
Asha Stark's Hot Grease specializes in Black fish fry with a side of social justice.
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Gab Chabrán
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Topline:
Smorgasburg L.A. reopens this Sunday with 13 new food vendors joining the downtown market's annual grand reopening at the Row.
Why now: The January grand reopening with new vendors is a longstanding tradition that kicks off the year ahead. Vendors apply through Smorgasburg's website, and the team meets with every applicant to taste their food before acceptance. Competition remains fierce, with many more applicants than available spots. This year marks the market's 10th anniversary celebration in June.
Why it matters: The new vendor class demonstrates the resilience of L.A.'s independent food scene, following a challenging year for the restaurant industry, with concepts ranging from a Grammy-nominated producer's Persian-influenced pizza to Southern fried fish honoring Black migration history.
Every January, the open-air downtown food fair reopens after its winter break and announces new additions to its carefully selected group of regular vendors.
This year’s new vendor class demonstrates the resilience of L.A.'s independent food scene, ranging from a Grammy-nominated producer's Persian-influenced pizza to Southern fried fish celebrating Black American culinary traditions, to an LAist 2025 Tournament of Cheeseburger heavyweight contender.
The reopening also marks the start of Smorgasburg LA's 10th anniversary year, and will feature 41 returning vendors, who've helped build the regular event into a fun, family-friendly opportunity to try new, often cutting-edge food you may not be familiar with.
Doors open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at DTLA’s The Row, with free entry and free parking for the first two hours.
A new year
General manager Zach Brooks said this is his favorite time of year. "We add the new vendors at the beginning of the new year, everyone's excited."
Vendors apply through Smorgasburg's website, and the team meets with every applicant to taste their food before acceptance. Brooks said it's not a vetting process like "Shark Tank" but rather a matter of seeing if it's a good fit. Competition remains fierce, with many more applicants than available spots.
"I think it's just a testament to L.A. and the resilience of people who love this business and have a passion for it, and are going to continue to persevere and start their businesses and want to be out there selling food," Brooks said.
Here are a few highlights:
Viral orange chicken sandwich
Long Beach-based Terrible Burger becomes Smorgasburg's new permanent burger vendor after standout appearances at LAist's Tournament of Cheeseburgers and the market's rotating Smorgasburger Stand. The smashburger pop-up, run by husband-and-wife team Nicole and Ryan Ramirez, specializes in burgers that draw from pop culture and global influences. They've made waves with a Korean barbecue burger topped with bulgogi barbecue sauce and a viral orange chicken sandwich, previously available only at their Tuesday night residency at Long Beach's Midnight Oil, making its L.A. debut Sunday.
Terrible Burger's viral orange chicken sandwich makes its LA debut at Smorgasburg after being available only in Long Beach.
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Courtesy Terrible Burger
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"We have been big Smorgasburg fans for a really long time before we even started Terrible Burger. We would go to Smorgasburg on dates, just eat and hang out. And it was just always a little dream of, "oh, what if we ever sold food here?" Nicole Ramirez said.
Crispy fried snapper and thick-cut fries
Orange County-based Hot Grease, run by Asha Starks, is among four vendors graduating from residencies to permanent status. The Southern fried fish pop-up celebrates Black American history through food that honors Starks' family heritage.
"Folks often forget that there are Black folks in Orange County. My family came to Orange County during the second wave of the Great Migration, and they settled in Santa Ana... my food is very cultural. And the story, I feel like, is just as important to highlight," Starks said.
Hot Grease's crispy buttermilk fried snapper with thick-cut fries and "Ill Dill" tartar sauce.
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Courtesy Hot Grease
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Hot Grease serves crispy buttermilk fried snapper with thick-cut fries and small-batch sauces like "Ill Dill" tartar. Honoring the fish fry's history as a site of mutual aid, Starks directs 3% of sales to the Potlikker Line, Hot Grease's reproductive justice mutual aid fund. For January, she's added fish and grits, black-eyed peas and collard greens.
Pizza with a Persian twist
Mamani Pizza brings studio-born energy to Smorgasburg LA with pies featuring Persian-inspired creativity.
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Courtesy Mamani Pizza
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Mamani Pizza, from the Grammy-nominated producer Farsi, part of the music production team Wallis Lane, started making Neapolitan-style pizzas at his West L.A. recording studio a year ago. What began as late-night pies for friends and artists became an underground hit. Most pizzas are traditional, but Farsi adds Persian touches like The Mamani, topped with ground wagyu koobideh, roasted Anaheim chilis, Persian herbs and pomegranate molasses.
Yusra Farzan
wants to help Southern Californians connect with faith communities around the region.
Published April 24, 2026 5:00 AM
Easter Sunday at First United Methodist Church in Pasadena capped a Christian Holy Week that also saw Islamic Friday prayers and a Jewish Passover celebration on the same campus.
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Topline:
The First United Methodist Church has been in its ornate home in Pasadena for 101 years. For about 10 years, it has also been the home of a satellite location of the Islamic Center of Southern California, a large mosque in the downtown area. And for a little over a year, the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center has also used space at the Colorado Boulevard church. The congregation lost their worship space to the Eaton Fire in January 2025.
The backstory: The three congregations are using the church at a time when religion is an inescapable fact in conflicts around the world. Global tensions in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Iran are hitting close to home for communities with ties to the region. And in America, President Donald Trump is in a war of words with an unlikely combatant: the pope.
How that is playing out in Pasadena: Pastor Amy Aitken views First United Methodist as “an island of hope and grace in the middle of a world that is really divided.”
Read on ... to experience a weekend in which all three Abrahamic faiths worshiped at one church.
The First United Methodist Church has been in its ornate home in Pasadena for 101 years. For about 10 years, it has also been the home of a satellite location of the Islamic Center of Southern California, a large mosque in the downtown area. And for a little over a year, the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center has also used space at the Colorado Boulevard church. The congregation lost their worship space to the Eaton Fire in January 2025.
That means that First United Methodist Church in Pasadena is today the site of bar mitzvahs and Shabbat services, iftar meals and Friday prayers and Christian Holy Week services.
Sometimes, within hours of each other.
“I'm not aware of any other church in the country that has all three Abrahamic faiths worshiping under one roof. It's pretty phenomenal,” said Pastor Amy Aitken of the First United Methodist Church.
The three congregations are using the church at a time when religion is an inescapable fact in conflicts around the world. Global tensions in Israel, the Palestinian territories and Iran are hitting close to home for communities with ties to the region. And in America, President Donald Trump is in a war of words with an unlikely combatant: the pope.
Pastor Amy Aitken sees First United Methodist as "an island of hope and grace in the middle of a world that is really divided."
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But Aitken views First United Methodist as “an island of hope and grace in the middle of a world that is really divided.”
“We're offering a place for people to gather, to worship, to connect, to be in community with one another,” Aitken said. “We don't have to agree on everything, and we come from different worldviews, and that's OK.”
I recently attended Friday prayers, Shabbat and Easter Sunday service at First United Methodist — and found quite a bit more common ground than you might expect.
Friday, April 3: Assalamu Alaykum
12:30 p.m.
People are streaming into a church hall on the First United Methodist campus through a side entrance.
Rizwan Bhatti, a doctor and volunteer who helps manage the mosque’s partnership with the church, pulls out colorful woven mats from a supply closet and lays them on the gray carpeted floor.
Two large wooden crosses hang on the wall at the front of the room, but the orientation is about to change. As people take their places and lay out their thick prayer mats, they face the back of the room — east, toward Mecca.
Muslim women listen to the Friday Jummah sermon in a church hall at First United Methodist in Pasadena.
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“ Honestly, it's the second best place that you could pray in,” Farah Bhatti said about the church hall, “because there's a spiritual feeling here, no matter what faith it originates from.”
Aitken said the previous pastor at the church had lived in the Palestinian territories for about 10 years and had deep ties to the Muslim community. When Rizwan Bhatti, who was connected with some of the parishioners, asked if the church had space for the Muslims to worship on Fridays, the pastor was determined to make it happen.
Mohamad Saleh Kholaki and Rizwan Bhatti.
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Mohamad Saleh Kholaki, a dentist who also serves as the khatib or imam on some Fridays, said the congregation is “lucky enough to have this location.”
“It serves a lot of community members that live around this area and their businesses around this area instead of going to the downtown,” he said.
And he said, the congregations haven’t had to compromise any aspects of their faiths. Kholaki said the Muslim congregation acknowledges Methodist Christian celebrations and that in turn is also reciprocated.
1:15 p.m.
After the call to prayer, Kholaki begins his sermon. Being Muslim, he says, is all-encompassing.
”If we deal with others when they show us some aggression with kindness and we smile and wave it off, I think we'll be in a better shape,” he says.
“ The act of transformation of discipline from Islamic teachings into regular life is the key word here,” Kholaki continues. “We have to transform ourselves from the time where we are on the rug to pray into regular life, to transfer that attitude to public.”
Muslim Jummah prayers at Pasadena's First United Methodist Church.
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After the sermon, the congregation faces Mecca and turns to the left and right. “Assalamualaikum warahmatullah,” they say — may the peace of God be with you.
Then, the worshipers neatly fold their mats and clear the space.
In two days’ time, tables will be set out in this hall for an Easter lunch.
5 p.m.
The church parking lot looks very different on Friday evening compared with this afternoon. Gone are the people with hijabs and fezzes.
Now, staffers from the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center pin kippahs to their heads and help transform a chapel at First United Methodist into a temporary Jewish prayer space.
Kippahs are ready for worshipers.
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They wheel a wooden ark from a storage room through the church’s courtyard, passing the Fellowship Hall where Muslims prayed earlier, into the chapel. A cross on a stand is put away. The organ is pushed to a corner.
The ark is then set up in the front of the chapel and prayer scrolls laid out. Soft dark blue fabric lines the ark, and it is opened during specific times of the service. A table is set up for the rabbi and cantor. Members of the band are setting up their instruments and sound system.
7 p.m.
Hanging above the altar, an ornate lamp emits a red glow. The light in the chapel is called the perpetual light: For the Methodist congregation, it signifies God's everlasting presence with us.
It reminds Lawrence Harris, a member of the congregation of the ner tamid, or eternal light, which is found in all synagogues.
”When you walk into any synagogue, there's the feeling of the light of God,” Harris said. “And it's wonderful that they have here in the church the same symbolic light, whether it's the same God, it's just practiced slightly differently.”
The Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center's ark is placed under the chapel's perpetual light.
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Using the church as a temporary home for the temple, Harris said, has allowed him to reflect on the connections between Christianity and Judaism. And it has forced this congregation out of their cocoons.
This reporting trip has forced me out of my cocoon too. I am Muslim and wear a hijab. I’m also a radio reporter, carrying bulky recording equipment, a phone for pictures and backup sound and a notebook. Out of respect for Jewish practice, I put the tools of my trade away and become an observer.
That allows me to really listen and understand the prayers being sung. The rabbi and cantor begin by praising and thanking God. Then they ask for blessings for children and safety in this world. And because it is Passover, Rabbi Josh Ratner recounts the story of the Exodus, how Moses led the Israelites through the Red Sea to the promised land.
The echoes with that afternoon’s prayers praising God and asking for guidance are clear.
8:30 p.m.
When the service ends, the rabbi and cantor lead the congregation into a small room, which years ago served as the Muslim prayer space, for a simple Passover observance with matzo crackers and grape juice.
And as the congregation begins to clear out, staffers restart the dance to put the ark, prayer books and tables back in storage. The cross is returned to its place and the chapel transforms back into a Christian worship space.
Tips from the cantor and rabbi
“Be flexible,” Cantor Ruth Berman Harris said. “ The strongest trees are the ones that bend. I think flexibility, assessing your reality and understanding that sometimes the journey is not as easy or as straightforward, but you know exactly where you are going.”
“Trying to focus on the good and not focus on the perfect,” said Rabbi Josh Ratner. “There's so much good that we can do and bring and share even if it isn't necessarily ideal. I'd rather spend more of my time in the 80% zone than very little time trying to get to the 100% zone.”
”Having a general sense of conviction of where you're at and where other groups are at and always sort of defaulting to try to find common ground, but also knowing sometimes there are certain red lines,” Ratner said. “It's important to articulate them from a place of mutual understanding and respect.” He added that it's important to hold on to your beliefs and values and have tough conversations, but have them from a place of respect and understanding versus insinuation.
Saturday, April 4: Shabbat Shalom
6:30 p.m.
How do you know when Shabbat is over?
Some say it’s when you see three stars in the sky. Others say it can be planets and stars.
I chuckle a little inside: It’s a similar predicament for Muslims determining the end of Ramadan — some rely on calculations; others say you have to see the new moon.
Emily Catalano, assistant director of youth engagement and education, leads worshipers in Havdalah to mark the end of Shabbat.
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As the sky darkens on Saturday evening at a private ceremony at a home in Arcadia, the congregants of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center gather in a circle, link arms and sing “Blessed are You, God, our Lord, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.”
With the sabbath over, Stacey Miller, a member of the congregation, reflects on practicing Judaism in a Christian church.
”What I find so easy about going to a church, though I still call it my temple, is that the Jesus that is up at this beautiful First United Methodist church in Pasadena is very abstract,” she said. “I don't feel like I'm looking at Jesus the Savior while I'm doing all my prayers with Moses.”
The stained glass windows of the chapel.
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The group of about 20 then settle in front of a projector to watch The Prince of Egypt, armed guards keeping watch outside.
That’s the reality of being Jewish in America right now, said Stuart Miller, a physician and Stacey Miller’s husband.
“ We call it a Jewish tax because we have an added expense of security,” he said.
Rising antisemitism has led local chapters of the Jewish Federation to partner to offer security at temples and other community spaces across Southern California.
The presence of armed guards at First United Methodist was unnerving at first, said Aitken, the Methodist pastor. It also helped teach empathy, she said.
”It's been a sobering teaching moment for our congregation as well to kind of see that,” she said.
Sunday, April 5: The peace of Christ be with you
9:30 a.m.
The main sanctuary at First United Methodist is bathed in colorful light from huge stained glass windows. I watch from the balcony as parishioners come in wearing soft pastels on Christianity’s most important day. They are celebrating Easter after observing the solemn Maundy Thursday, which marks the Last Supper, and Good Friday, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Worshipers takes their seats before Easter Sunday service at First United Methodist.
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Aitken said I was welcome to use my recording equipment and phone, but wanting to immerse myself again, I place it all on the pew.
The hymn “Christ the Lord is Risen Today” echoes through the church, and the joy people feel after the solemn week is palpable.
“The peace of Christ be with you,” they say, hugging.
In her sermon, Aitken draws out the similarities between Christ’s resurrection and the message of Passover.
The Exodus, she says, “is a story of liberation, and it is, of course, the story that is at the crux of Judaism — the sense that God comes, that God redeems, that God sees suffering, injustice and despair, and God intervenes to bring people freedom.”
Similarly with Easter — the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection after his crucifixion and death.
“ No matter how dark the tombs of despair and sorrow are in the world, we follow a Risen Christ, one who comes to bring into the world a new story, a story of a world transformed by the power of love.”
Stained glass windows depicting the life of Christ at Pasadena's First United Methodist Church.
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10:30 a.m.
As I sit in the pew reflecting on the weekend, I think back to Kholaki’s sermon at Friday Jummah prayers — about transforming ourselves not just “on this rug to pray,” but also out in the world.
Cantor Ruth Berman Harris of the Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center had the same thought.
”For Judaism I am very concerned with finding a path, a bridge between what we do when we are at synagogue and what we do when we leave the synagogue,” she told LAist in an interview.
Rabbi Josh Ratner added, ”How do we make it so it's not just empty words that we're saying, but for words to live by?”
Aitken and her congregation see welcoming their Muslim and Jewish neighbors as living their faith.
“ We don't view this as anything heroic,” she said. “We are blessed with incredible buildings and beautiful sacred spaces. We are grateful to be able to use them in ways that I don't think our founders quite imagined, but that are perfectly fitting with the way the church understands its mission now.”
Monica Bushman
produces arts and culture coverage for LAist's on-demand team. She’s also part of the Imperfect Paradise podcast team.
Published April 24, 2026 5:00 AM
Pianist Yi-Ju Lai, faculty member at the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, at The Huntington on April 20, 2026.
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Monica Bushman / LAist
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Topline:
LACMA, The Huntington, the Getty Center and the Norton Simon Museum all offer opportunities to catch live music performances for free this spring/summer.
Dates to know:
Music in the Rose Garden at The Huntington: Mondays from 1 to 3 p.m., April 20 through June 8
Jazz at LACMA: Fridays from 6 to 8 p.m., May 1 through October
Off the 405 at Getty Center: Select Saturdays, May 30 through August 22
Golden Hour: Music in the Garden at the Norton Simon Museum: Select Fridays, May 29 through August
Read on ... for more about the free live music performances.
The jacaranda trees are blooming (a little early); the three-acre rose garden at The Huntington is in full bloom too; and Jazz at LACMA is about to start …
It's springtime in Southern California!
That also means it’s time to do a little planning for your next Southern California museum visit — so you can not only see some art, but also enjoy a free live music performance.
Music in the Rose Garden at The Huntington
The Huntington Rose Garden
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The Huntington
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The Huntington’s Music in the Rose Garden live music performance series is already underway. The series is in partnership with the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, and now is a great time to go and see the more than 1,300 varieties of roses in full bloom in the San Marino garden that dates back to 1908.
On Monday afternoons from 1 to 3 p.m. (through June 8) a different Pasadena Conservatory performer or duo plays instruments including piano, violin, accordion, cello and guitar.
Music in the Rose Garden performances are free, with paid admission to The Huntington or an annual membership. The series also returns in the fall.
An insider tip, especially for those visiting with kids (who get free admission if they’re under 4-years-old): keep an eye out for the rose garden’s fairy door.
Jazz at LACMA
Jazz at LACMA
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Photo courtesy of LACMA
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via Facebook
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The 35th season of Jazz at LACMA kicks off on Friday, May 1 and runs through October. The first performance this year is by vocalist and composer Michelle Coltrane, the daughter of jazz legends John and Alice Coltrane, as part of a celebration of the 100th anniversary of her father’s birth.
The live performances take place from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Smidt Welcome Plaza, next to the Instagram-famous “Urban Light” installation of 200+ antique street lamps.
The free jazz nights at LACMA don’t require admission to the museum, but if you do also want to visit the museum, admission is free for L.A. County residents from 3 to 6 p.m. on weekdays (including Friday).
If you’re looking to check out LACMA’s newly unveiled David Geffen museum galleries, you’ll need to be a member to enter on May 1. The next Friday opportunity for non-members is May 8.
The Getty Center’s nighttime Off the 405 summer concert series kicks off on Saturday, May 30 with a performance by blues poet, vocalist and composer aja monet. Other artists in the series include South Korean pop band and electronic musician Laurel Halo.
The “Off the 405” performance series is free, but does require an online reservation. Reservations for the aja monet performance will be available beginning May 7 and about three weeks ahead of each of the following performances (which run through August 22).
Also, admission to the Getty Center is free, but there is a fee ($15-25) for parking before 6 p.m. on Saturdays.
Golden Hour: Music in the Garden at the Norton Simon Museum
Norton Simon Museum’s annual Garden Party
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Norton Simon Museum
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The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena offers free live music in its newly renovated sculpture garden on select Fridays from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., beginning this year May 26 and running through August.
The performances are programmed by bassist and composer Masatoshi Sato and feature a range of musical styles. They’re free with admission to the Norton Simon Museum, which is $20 for adults and free for students and people 18 and under. Admission is free for all on the first Friday of every month from 4 to 7 p.m.
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By Jill Replogle, Alejandra Molina for The LA Local
Published April 24, 2026 5:00 AM
Members of People's Care Collective prepare to rally outside Los Angeles General Medical Centerto denounce the treatment of immigrants brought into hospitals by ICE on March 15, 2026.
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J.W. Hendricks
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The LA Local
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Topline:
After widespread reports last year of immigration agents interfering with patient care and privacy at local hospitals, Los Angeles County now has a policy that asserts the rights of detained patients and instructs county public hospital staff on how to handle the ICE agents that accompany them.
About the new policy: The policy, which went into effect in March, clarifies that patients brought in by civil law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, have the right to communicate with family members, legal counsel and advocates. Implemented by the LA County Department of Health Services, the policy has been described as a “new gold standard of care” meant to safeguard patient rights as hospitals navigate an influx of federal immigration raids. These new guidelines only apply to public health care facilities.
Advocates say policy is not well known: To physicians and advocates with the People’s Care Collective, a network of health care workers and organizers, this policy marks a major shift in how hospitals handle patients in immigration custody. But they said awareness of it has been lacking within the health care system, even though the Department of Health Services said the policy has been shared with staff. A statement provided by the Department of Health Services said the policy is accessible to staff through a workforce portal, adding that a “guidance tool” has been distributed.
Read on ... for full details of the new L.A. County policy.
After widespread reports last year of immigration agents interfering with patient care and privacy at local hospitals, Los Angeles County now has a policy that asserts the rights of detained patients and instructs county public hospital staff on how to handle the ICE agents that accompany them.
The policy, which went into effect in March, clarifies that patients brought in by civil law enforcement officers, including immigration agents, have the right to communicate with family members, legal counsel and advocates. Implemented by the LA County Department of Health Services, the policy has been described as a “new gold standard of care” meant to safeguard patient rights as hospitals navigate an influx of federal immigration raids.
There’s one problem, though: Hardly anyone knows about it.
To physicians and advocates with the People’s Care Collective, a network of health care workers and organizers, this policy marks a major shift in how hospitals handle patients in immigration custody. But they said awareness of it has been lacking within the health care system, even though the Department of Health Services said the policy has been shared with staff.
“The vast majority of the [LA County Department of Health Services] workforce, which is the second largest health care system in the country — second only to NYC — is unaware of this policy, unaware of all of the rights of their patients under this policy, and how the policy empowers health care workers to protect these rights,” said a Department of Health Services physician who is a member of the People’s Care Collective. The doctor asked to speak anonymously due to fear of retaliation.
The policy follows a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors directive requiring the Department of Health Services to develop guidelines allowing patients detained by immigration authorities to authorize the release of information to family, counsel and government representatives.
The policy also:
Instructs staff to ask agents to remain outside of a patient’s room at all times, absent safety concerns
Forbids unnecessary restraints, or shackling, of patients
Requires agents to remain in public areas of the hospital unless they have a judicial warrant
Requires agents to “remain identifiable at all times”
Prohibits agents from acting as interpreters or surrogate decision-makers for detained patients
Instructs staff not to physically interfere with ICE agents or assist a patient in hiding or fleeing
Prohibits discharging the patient back into immigration custody “until custody is confirmed as lawful and documented.”
These new guidelines only apply to public health care facilities and not private hospitals such as Adventist White Memorial in Boyle Heights, where doctors last year reported ICE agents violating the privacy rights of detained patients and prohibiting contact with patients’ family members.
This article was published in collaboration with LAist.
People’s Care Collective members say they hope private health care facilities adopt similar measures — and they may have to if the state legislature passes several bills making their way through the legislature. But first, the members say, an education campaign is crucial to inform hospital workers and the public at large about the new guidelines.
“Being upfront about this really can set the precedent for places across the country to follow suit,” the LA County Department of Health Services physician said. “It’s our patients’ rights to know these rights. If we really care as a county that wants to live by our values [of caring] about all of its residents, including immigrant residents and folks who are being targeted by ICE, we need to walk the walk.”
The physician said members of the collective, who were aware of the Board of Supervisors’ directive, learned about the policy’s implementation last month only after searching through the Department of Health Services’ internal website. The department officially announced the policy a few days later by summarizing key points through email, according to the physician.
“The majority of health care workers are only going to know about the policy to the extent that is shared with them … and are not going to have the time and capacity to be digging deep into this internal website, finding the policy, reading it through [and] understanding it,” the physician said.
While health care facilities may fear retaliation by the Trump administration for being vocal about the rights of patients and immigrants, the physician said the Department of Health Services should “model the bravery and integrity” that its workforce has embodied since the beginning of the raids.
“These rights are not up for negotiation. They’re not flexible pending political circumstances,” the physician said.
A statement provided by the Department of Health Services said the policy is accessible to staff through a workforce portal, adding that a “guidance tool” has been distributed.
“We have also taken proactive steps to communicate this specific policy to all staff, supervisors, and managers through multiple internal channels, including all staff emails, hospital newsletters,” the statement said.
None of the hospitals or medical centers operated by LA Health Services have received a patient under civil custody, including ICE detention, since January 2026, according to the department.
This article was published in collaboration with LAist.
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Rebecca Trotzky-Sirr, a physician at LA General who has worked closely with patients in criminal custody, said hospitals across the country were caught off guard when the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration tactics led to an influx of patients brought in by ICE for emergency care. Many hospitals, including LA General, have clear protocols for handling patients in criminal detention, for example, after being arrested by a police officer.
But most patients accompanied by ICE are civil, not criminal detainees.
“It took a long time for people to understand that,” she said. Trotzky-Sirr spoke with LAist as an individual physician, not on behalf of the Department of Health Services or LA General.
Initially, she said, many health care workers assumed ICE had the same authority as criminal law enforcement agencies in medical settings to take precautions like restricting a patient’s communications.
“But that’s not what we should do," she said. "That’s not what we’re legally obligated to do.”
Plus, Trotzky-Sirr said, hospital staff, like anyone, might feel intimidated by a masked, armed agent.
“It’s hard to stand up confidently to someone with a gun,” she said.
But staff members’ deference to the demands of federal immigration agents over patients’ rights has been slowly changing, the doctor said, as more staff become educated on policies for handling detained patients, and especially, the difference between patients in civil custody versus criminal custody. Most patients who have been apprehended by ICE are civil, not criminal detainees.
“It took a long time for people to understand that,” the doctor said.
To Henry Perez, executive director of InnerCity Struggle, the county can strengthen awareness by working with organizations “with deep roots in the community.”
Perez, who has been involved in community efforts to protect patient rights at White Memorial, thinks of the county’s outreach work around housing and renters’ rights, partnering with organizations like Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, Public Counsel and InnerCity Struggle.
“There is a roadmap … and the county needs to reproduce that template that they already know how to do,” Perez said. “Just as housing is a critical issue in the community, so are immigrant rights and protections.
“A policy is only as good and as strong as its implementation and enforcement.”
Some Southern California legislators are trying to safeguard the rights of detained patients at the state level. State Sen. Caroline Menjivar, who represents Burbank and the San Fernando Valley, authored a bill, SB 915, that would, among other measures, prohibit immigration officers from remaining at a patient’s bedside unless there’s a credible risk of harm, or the officer has a valid judicial warrant.
A second bill, SB 1323, authored by state Sen. Susan Rubio, whose district stretches from El Monte to Ontario, would require hospital staff to immediately notify management when immigration agents show up. It would also require hospital management to instruct staff on how to respond to a detained patient’s request to notify family of their whereabouts.
Both bills would apply to all health care entities in California, both public and private.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment by publication time. This story will be updated if a response is received.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published April 24, 2026 5:00 AM
Dishes such as the shrimp Pad Thai dish at Miya Thai in Altadena.
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Cathy Chaplin
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LAist
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Topline:
What screams Thai food more than pad Thai? Nothing. And on Sunday, the utilitarian stir-fried noodles will be the main character of an attempt to break a Guinness World Record.
What exactly is this? The challenge? To serve andsell 1,200 plates of the stuff in 60 minutes.
Why now: The headline grabbing gambit is part of17th Thai New Year Festival happening on Sunday in Hollywood Thai Town.
Read on ... to learn more about the event and how it came together.
What screams Thai more than pad Thai? Nothing. And on Sunday, the utilitarian stir-fried noodles will be the main character in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record.
The challenge? To serve andsell 1,200 plates of the stuff in 60 minutes. The headline-grabbing gambit is part of17th Thai New Year Festival happening Sunday in Hollywood Thai Town.
Pad Thai Guinness World Record Sunday, April 26 Gates open: 9 a.m. Challenge: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. Ticket: $38, including a plate of Pad Thai as part of the record-breaking attempt
Chinnakrit Soonthornwan (he said you can just call him Oak) came up with the idea to break the old Guinness record of around 1,000 plates. As of Thursday, the team already has received about 700 orders from participants.
"I think it [is] very possible," Oak said of their chances to make history. "It is going to be epic."
Also epic is the setting of this record-breaking attempt.
"It's all outside," Oak said. " There will be 35 restaurants working at the same time with big woks — like, gigantic woks."
Not to mention the 1,200 (or more) people chowing down on said noodles.
Pad Thai wasn't the first dish of choice. The team first landed on mango sticky rice.
"It seemed like everyone can eat it. It's vegan," he said.
But the popular dessert is difficult to make, and Oak added, "It's Thai, but the name is not Thai."
Again, what screams Thai cuisine more than pad Thai?
"This is Thai. This is how we do it together," he said. "This is how we do world history."
Oak is also a co-founder ofDS Night Market, a weekly Thai gathering proffering music and food taking place in Chinatown for the past couple years. He said his team has been regular attendees of the New Year festival and those born-and-raised in Thai Town have always wanted to help out.
"And we were like, 'We not gonna do something like they had done for 16 years,'" Oak said. "So we pitched them the pad Thai world record thing."
The bigger goal is to shed a spotlight on the community and to support the mom-and-pops. The pad Thai challenge is just one of the highlights. The all-day Sunday New Year celebration includes five stages focusing on food, music, a beer garden and even boxing.
"We want to drive the business sales and bring more good vibes to Thai business owners," he said.
