The Brief

When the moon slips in front of the sun on April 8, many places will hold eclipse viewing parties. The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, for example, will hand out special viewing glasses shaped like the historic building.

"We encourage everyone to come to the Alamo," says Alamo Trust spokesperson Jonathan Huhn, who notes that past astronomical events have drawn thousands to the Alamo's plaza. "We're hopeful to have another 5,000 people out in front of the shrine of Texas liberty to witness this beautiful celestial event."

But the Alamo is just outside the so-called path of totality — that's the ribbon of land that stretches through 13 states, from Texas to Maine, that will see a total solar eclipse. During a total eclipse, the sun is completely obscured by the moon.

"We're not in the 100% area of totality," says Huhn, who says he thinks the sun will be around 99.9% obscured. "It's very, very close."

Close but no cigar, according to eclipse experts.

"I would never tell someone, '99% is close enough.' That's definitely not the case with a solar eclipse," says Michelle Nichols, who directs public observing programs at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

"Drive those last few miles to get into the path of totality," she urges. "People go to total eclipses to get the full experience, and 99% will not get you the full experience."

"It's 100% or nothing," agrees Fred Espenak, a retired NASA astrophysicist who has experienced 30 total solar eclipses. "There's such a radical, dramatic difference between a 99% partial and a 100% total. There's no comparison."

During a total eclipse, the sky darkens suddenly and dramatically. The temperature drops. Stars come out. Beautiful colors appear around the horizon. And the once-familiar sun becomes a black void in the sky surrounded by the glowing corona — that's the ghostly white ring that is the sun's atmosphere.

"It seems supernatural," says Espenak. "It is so far beyond the scope of normal, everyday existence that it seems dream-like or hallucinogenic."

A partial solar eclipse offers none of that magic, according to Rick Fienberg, the project manager for the American Astronomical Society's solar eclipse task force.

"Even at 99%, it gets no more dark than on a sort of typical overcast day," says Fienberg. "You can have a 75% or 80% partial solar eclipse, and if you didn't know it was happening, you might not notice because the environment changes so little."

That's because the sun is just so incredibly bright that even a tiny exposed sliver can light up the sky — or hurt your eyes if you're not wearing protective glasses. Only during the brief total eclipse phase when the sun is completely covered (which varies depending on your exact location but could be around four minutes) is it safe to look up toward the sun without special eye protection.

"The sun is about a million times brighter than the full moon," explains Angela Speck, an astronomer at the University of Texas at San Antonio. So if 99.9% of the sun is obscured, she says, there will still be "a thousand times more light than the full moon, and so it's still bright."

The last time parts of the United States got to see a total solar eclipse, in 2017, the path of totality went over a lot of rural areas, says Nichols. This time, the path cuts through more urban areas.

That means while around 32 million people live in the path, many more live a short distance away.

For them, the difference between seeing a partial eclipse and seeing a total one may mean going across town.

"If you get right up to the path, but don't go that last, you know, a few hundred yards into it, you're going to have a very, very deep partial eclipse," says Fienberg. "It will definitely get noticeably dark, but not near as dark as it will get at 100%. And you will not see the solar corona."

Popular places located just outside the path of totality will have to decide what kind of event to hold that day, if any.

The San Antonio Zoo is on the side of the city that won't see a total eclipse. Unlike the nearby Alamo, it will focus on having pre-eclipse activities on the day before.

"We are hosting an Eclipse Prep event on Sunday instead of an event on Monday," zoo spokesperson Hope Roth told NPR by email, adding that astronomers will attend and free solar glasses will be available. "We will encourage guests to visit the zoo, grab their glasses, and have a fun time while preparing for the Eclipse the following day."

The historic Cincinnati Observatory, which frequently holds sky gazing parties, will only see a 99.7% partial eclipse. Staffers there thought hard about whether or not to hold an eclipse celebration.

"For the longest time leading up to this eclipse, we had been committed to being closed," says executive director Anna Hehman, "because totality, if the skies are clear, is within an hour of us."

Eventually, they decided to hold an event for those members of their community who, for whatever reason, couldn't travel to the path of totality.

"While we encourage everyone to head to totality if possible, we love that people want to be at the Cincinnati Observatory for out-of-this-world events like this one. So, if you can't head to totality, please join us," the observatory's website says.

After all, a partial eclipse is still an interesting celestial event that people have observed since antiquity, even if it's not as dramatic.

"The buzz about solar eclipses is usually focused on totality, and witnessing a total eclipse is worthy of the hype. But the vast majority of people won't be in the path of totality," astronomy educator Shauna Edson, at the National Air and Space Museum, told NPR in an email.

That's why the museum is holding an eclipse celebration on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., which will see an 89% partial eclipse.

"This eclipse falls during cherry blossom season, so a lot of people will be visiting DC, and the Museum wanted to provide a space where they could enjoy the eclipse together," Edson noted, adding that participants will be able to enjoy the crescent-shaped shadows that form under trees and try out different methods for viewing the partial eclipse.

After April 8, the contiguous United States won't see another total solar eclipse for 20 years. And the one that's coming in 2044 will only be visible from the less-populated states of North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana.

The Los Angeles Police Department recently suspended its contract with Flock Safety, a surveillance company whose use of AI-powered automated license plate readers has raised questions about civil liberties and data sharing in communities nationwide.

That doesn't mean LAPD’s relationship with Flock is over.

The department said it let its previous agreement with Flock lapsed due to questions over who owns and who can access the data gathered in the city. Currently, LAPD officials are negotiating a new deal, which, they say, will include more safeguards.

How you can have a say

For Angelenos who want to weigh in on the move, the LAPD’s Office of the Inspector General will hold a public meeting on July 30.

Chad Marlow, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said he believes community input is crucial when it comes to this technology. He said that input should determine how — or even if— localities decide to implement license plate readers.

Police departments, he said, can get “very tunnel-visioned on law enforcement motives, and they don't think about community impact . . . If you want to come up with the right motives, so you come up with the right solutions, you need to start with listening to people in the community.”

What law enforcement says about Flock technology

Law enforcement agencies say the tech helps them with criminal investigations and makes it easier to locate stolen vehicles.

One local example: Costa Mesa voted this week 6-1 to keep its Flock contract. Officials cited success in three missing person cases, 20 stolen car recoveries, as well as helping solve 10 sexual assaults, according to Voice of OC coverage of the meeting.

That said, even in cities where elected officials have touted successes, more and more questions are being asked about who has access to the data gathered locally.

Data privacy concerns

In Greater L.A., cities like South Pasadena and South Gate have moved to cut ties with Flock over privacy concerns. So has the Oxnard Police Department.

L.A. residents have expressed concerns about the misuse and abuse of data. Public outcry sharpened after reports that some local law enforcement agencies illegally shared license plate reader data with federal immigration agents.

The ACLU’s Marlow, who specializes in privacy, surveillance and technology issues, said some cities using the Flock technology scan plates against existing hot lists and then immediately delete the data.

“If that is your goal, identifying cars of interest to law enforcement, then you have no need to store the data for any more than a couple of minutes,” he said. “And you certainly don't have a need to share it broadly.”

He said it shouldn't be used for tracking “what doctors' offices you go to, what political meetings you go to, what religious institutions you go to.”

How to weigh-in on the LAPD’s Flock negotiations

When: The public listening session will take place on Thursday, July 30, at 4:00 p.m. on Zoom at this link.

How to get up to speed: The Office of the Inspector General also shared a report on the LAPD’s automatic license plate reader system.

Kevin Tidmarsh contributed to this reporting.

"Japanese people, we do not eat too much sushi and ramen, actually. We eat so many different things," says chef Yoya Takahashi.

You've probably noticed that Japanese food in the U.S. has a tendency to fall into certain lanes — sushi, ramen and the like. For Takahashi, after years working in Japanese restaurants across L.A., the repetitive nature of doing the same fish, the same sequence, every day, was driving him almost to his wits' end.

That's when his izakaya concept started to take shape. A drinking and dining experience that was personal and, more importantly, a truer vision of the diverse offerings of Japanese cooking back home. No set menu, a more seasonal approach, Japanese food on its own terms. Basically, whatever the hell he wanted.

The result is Homareya, his izakaya in downtown Long Beach.

What to order

The menu moves with the improvisational ease of a Jerry Garcia guitar solo — unhurried, searching, funky and cool, following the thread wherever it leads, and always landing somewhere that feels inevitable.

It spans the raw, the grilled, the fried, the fermented — Japanese and Californian in equal measure, almost autobiographical in its range. It began with saba nigiri — lightly torched, iridescent skin, 15-year-old vinegar rice, a quiet nod to his sushi roots. Then he moves on to a couple of yakitori skewers — simple and satisfying, approachable and adventurous between the same few bites of chicken thigh and liver. The monkfish karaage arrives looking like chicken and tastes like something better — his non-conforming nature in a single bite.

The Japadilla — a Sonoratown tortilla filled with soy-simmered beef, Jidori egg, konnyaku, mozzarella, sansho pepper and ichimi — is the dish that says everything about Takahashi's cooking.

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Gab Chabrán

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Then there's the Japadilla — a Sonoratown tortilla charred over binchotan and filled with soy-simmered beef, Jidori egg, konnyaku (a starchy Japanese root vegetable), mozzarella, sansho pepper and ichimi. Unapologetically Long Beach. Completely his own.

Takahashi regularly visits farmers markets in Long Beach and Cerritos — no further — along with tending a small plot at a community garden a few miles north of the restaurant. His wife Yoshiko Nishibe is the Bob Weir to his Garcia, bringing her own creative spirit to an in-house fermentation program — koji, miso, mirin, fermented soy, all from scratch — and not afraid to experiment with unexpected bases like chickpea and mustard miso, the latter showing up in the firefly squid special, a dish that rewards the curious diner who orders off the menu.

Why Long Beach

Moving to Long Beach 15 years ago, Takahashi fell in love with the bar scene — a city long known for its old-school haunts. It was the individual free spirits he identified with that made it feel like home.

Homareya, on Linden Ave. in downtown Long Beach.

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Courtesy Homareya

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At Homareya, the menu includes sake, wine, and Japanese craft beer, all hand-selected. The wine list itself is a partnership with local bottle shop Buvons, where he sometimes pops up. Then there's the shochu — a Japanese spirit distilled from ingredients like barley, sweet potato, or rice, lighter than most Western spirits and endlessly versatile — which is perhaps the most personal part of the program.

Five selections anchored by the Beni Otome, a sesame shochu that Takahashi serves poured directly over hojicha, a roasted green tea, nutty, herbaceous, and exactly right for a Long Beach summer.

His background

Takahashi grew up in Kyoto, before immigrating to the U.S. in 2000 with only a backpack and a dream of becoming an actor. It makes perfect sense once you look at him — his long grey ponytail, tattooed arms, and unmistakable gruff voice would make him a shoo-in for a bit part in an independent film with the likes of Jim Jarmusch or Wes Anderson.

He ended up washing dishes to pay rent until someone suggested he try making sushi instead — eventually landing in Little Tokyo, where he trained at Hamakawa, a now-closed institution, and later in Gardena at Kanpachi. Learning directly from older Japanese mentors, watching and doing, no internet to fall back on.

The open kitchen at Homareya puts every move in full view of the room.

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His grandfather was a stage actor back in Kyoto, and one of those mentors once told him the sushi counter works the same way. Same instincts, different medium — you see it in the quiet, calculated way Takahashi moves before setting a plate down in front of you.

For Takahashi, Homareya represents a reclamation of something: his voice, his cooking, his terms. The name says it plainly — Homare, an alternate reading of the chef's own name, paired with ya, the Japanese word for home. At Homareya, that's not a concept. It's a promise.

A Montessori school in Santa Monica founded in 1960 closed its doors last Friday. Now, a new AI-powered school plans to move in and open this fall.

Parents with children at Santa Monica Montessori School, which served kids from preschool through elementary, said they learned about the abrupt closure of the school with a little over a week’s notice.

“We were surprised, like everyone else — it was a pretty established place … a lot of great community, teachers, students,” said Michael Ho, a parent of a 4-year-old that attended the school for about two years. He had planned to keep his 4-year-old there for the following school year and had put in a deposit.

Parents said they received a letter dated July 5 in which the school’s director, Pamela Crisman wrote that "the decision was not made lightly."

“Due to family circumstances that now require my full attention, I have made the difficult decision to prioritize those responsibilities after much reflection and consideration,” the letter said. “Beginning in August, a new school will assume occupancy of the facility as they prepare for the upcoming academic year.”

Crisman, who became the school’s director in 2003 according to the school’s website, has not responded to LAist’s repeated requests for comment.

The school is among a growing number of preschools that have closed in recent years in L.A. County and across the state. A report by UC Berkeley researchers found that between 2020 and 2024, at least 167 pre-K centers across L.A. county have closed. That’s as enrollment in universal transitional kindergarten — the new grade for 4-year-olds in public schools — has grown.

“ It's so heartbreaking that, we won't have that community resource to teach kids in such a humanistic way,” said Alex Mulvaney, a parent of two who attended the school, and had planned to send his third child there. He said he understands businesses close, but was upset by the short notice. “You don’t just kick kids, toddlers, out on the street with a week’s notice.”

Jocelyn Ranne  said she’s scrambling now to find a place to send her 3-year-old daughter, and said the Montessori school, which she was paying about $21,000 a school year for, was a special place for her children.

“The teachers there were just so phenomenal. They were so good with the kids, and the Montessori approach — it's just really special. Like, everything's at their eye level, and they just have the freedom to just go into the class and just find something and start working on it.”

What is Alpha School?

Alpha School, an “AI-powered private school" based in Texas plans to open up its second Santa Monica location at the site of the old Montessori school this fall, said MacKenzie Price, the school's co-founder. The private school has about a dozen locations across the country, and is expanding.

She said eight new schools are set to open this fall across California, including in Malibu, Palo Alto, and Piedmont. They already have established programs in San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Orange County.

Alpha’s growth comes as communities are debating the role of AI and technology in schools. Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to ban one-to-one devices for children from preschool through 1st grade, and set time limits to screen time for upper grades.

Price said Alpha began looking for a second location in Santa Monica because of the demand they saw for the first location they announced earlier this year, which quickly filled up.

“As a result, we're always interested in making sure that there's more availability for families that are interested in Alpha,” she said.

At the K-8 school in Santa Monica, which lists tuition at $65,000, students learn subjects like math on a computer for 2 hours a day using AI-powered software that customizes curriculum. She said the rest of the time is off a screen.

 ”Most importantly, we're giving kids back their most valuable resource, which is time, to be able to go and develop the life skills in the afternoon and work in workshops together and get outside and do activities and connect not only with each other, but also with their teachers, who we call guides,” Price said.

Price said there’s a lot of overlap that Alpha has with Montessori principles.

“Montessori has always had a really good focus on helping students have sort of a self-driven, proactive engagement with learning and develop life skills, and Alpha does so much of that, but we have made the technology component of our experience really be able to result in phenomenal learning," Price said.

I spent last Saturday night in a time machine to the '90s, reliving my high school days at the Hollywood Bowl, where I realized I knew nearly every note of the Gin Blossoms, Spin Doctors and Blues Traveler lineup. If you also donned Doc Martens and flannel once upon a time (or still do!), you’re in luck with this weekend’s music picks, too.

Lyndsey Parker at Licorice Pizza recommends the Totally Tubular '80s festival at the Hollywood Palladium on Friday if you want to swap the Docs for Day-Glo, or you can catch early aughts favorites the Fray and Dashboard Confessional at the YouTube Theater.

On Saturday, legends Smokey Robinson and Gladys Knight are at the Hollywood Bowl, Walk Off the Earth plays the United Theater, and KCRW Summer Nights features Tijuana Panthers, Mariachi El Bronx and more at Grand Performances, free with RSVP.

Sunday has Summer Sounds with Nikka Costa, free at West Hollywood’s Plummer Park; Teddy Thompson at McCabe’s; or the Pacific Amphitheatre is back to the ‘90s with Sugar Ray, Smash Mouth and Tonic. And of course, the Vans Warped Tour is on, with 3OH!3, All Time Low, Bowling For Soup, Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind and dozens more all weekend long at Long Beach’s Shoreline Waterfront.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can check out all the new treats at the Orange County Fair, on through Aug. 16; learn how to fight back against mosquitoes this summer; and relive our 10 favorite moments of the World Cup.

Events

Sounds of L.A. County

Through Saturday, Aug. 29 
Multiple locations
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

This weekend, Sounds of L.A. County features three great concerts across the area. All summer long, you can catch local and international sounds at parks and unique venues around L.A. This Saturday, George Lane Park hosts Country Nights with Breakin' Boots, DJ Maxey, Gilbert Louie Ray Band; East Rancho Domínguez Park in East Compton features the Utopia One Love Summer Fest: Awdiv Band, KG Superstar, DJ Adé, Jerry Flores, DJ UnieQ and Joy Christos; and San Angelo Park in La Puente has the Gabby Tamez Corazón Norteño Tour, featuring Gabby Tamez, Jessica Ballesteros and Grupo La Virtud.

ReCoding the Codex: Cultural Heritage through Language

Through Oct. 10; Opening reception Saturday, July 25, 6:30 p.m.
ReflectSpace 
Glendale Central Library
222 E. Harvard St., Glendale 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Courtesy ReflectSpace

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At Frieze in 2023, Narsiso Martinez blew me away with his images of agricultural workers on CSA farm boxes. He’s one of the featured artists at the new exhibit, ReCoding the Codex, at ReflectSpace, which opens Saturday. The show features artists from the U.S. and Korea addressing “colonization, Japanese American incarceration, and exploitation of agricultural workers, creating an international dialogue about harnessing the power of text and word in innovative ways.”

Disco Vino

Friday, July 24, 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave., Los Feliz
COST: FROM $25; MORE INFO

The ever-popular Barnsdall Friday night wine events are getting the extra special treatment this week, as WONDERWERK takes over the event with Silver Lake Wine (tickets here) and then hosts an after-party at the delish Los Feliz standby Little Dom’s. From 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., guests will enjoy WONDERWERK pours with the purchase of a $25 glass you can keep, light bites and an all-vinyl DJ set from Chelsea Dean, who will be spinning house, funk and disco records in the Little Dom’s deli.

Los Angeles Indie Book Crawl

Through Sunday, July 26
Various locations 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

A map of the LA region and all the Indie Book Crawl locations.

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LA Indie Book Crawl

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You might spend more time driving than reading, but whoever says L.A. isn’t a book town has it all wrong. Visit 13 independent booksellers from Venice to Ventura, and Pasadena to the Palisades, at this first-of-its-kind small-business celebration. Dañiel Andres Martinez spoke to some of the folks organizing it; read up on the event here and head out to find your next read this weekend.

Introductory Welding Workshop

Saturday, July 25, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Lincoln Electric
12979 Sandoval St., Santa Fe Springs
COST: $125; MORE INFO 

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Women Who Weld

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Women Who Weld is a Detroit-based nonprofit that teaches women how to weld and find employment in the welding industry. Their one-day L.A. workshop on Saturday is already sold out, but it’s worth getting on the waitlist if your 2026 bucket list includes learning metalwork in a safe, inclusive environment.

Pretzel Fest 

Saturday and Sunday, July 25-26; Saturday, August 1
Old World Biergarten 
7561 Center Ave. #49, Huntington Beach 
COST: FROM $5; MORE INFO

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Courtesy Old World Biergarten

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We may be a few months away from Oktoberfest, but get a head start by celebrating everyone’s favorite twisty treat at Pretzel Fest. With tons of pretzels, plus other food, beer, family-friendly events and free parking, there’s no need to get salty.

The Legacy of Jesse Ed Davis

Saturday, July 25, 6 p.m.
Venice Heritage Museum
1234 Pacific Ave., Venice 
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

Jesse Ed Davis was an indigenous rock star and Venice resident who died in 1988; now he’s the focus of a new book, Washita Love Child: The Rise of Indigenous Rock Star Jesse Ed Davis. Learn more about him during a special presentation in partnership with Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Bob Dylan Center by author Dr. Douglas Miller and a Q&A with legendary musicians Jim Keltner, Elliot Easton, Bob Glaub and Mark Shark. Plus, there will be a live musical performance by Scott McCaughey.