The Brief

Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that would allow paid family leave for Californians caring for extended or “chosen” family members, including neighbors and friends.

Under California’s paid family leave program, workers can get up to eight weeks of paid time off to care for “a seriously ill family member.” That includes caring for a child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse or domestic partner.

SB 590 would expand the definition to include “designated persons,” which would include extended family members or other loved ones with whom a caregiver has the “equivalent of a family relationship.” About 10% of Californians live with someone who is not defined as a family member, according to the California Budget & Policy Center.

Advocates say immigrant populations, seniors, and members of the LGBTQ community disproportionately rely on caregivers who they’re not biologically related to or have a legal relationship with.

For instance, older adults might rely on neighbors for help, said Shazzy Kamali, senior attorney at Legal Aid at Work, which was a co-sponsor of the bill.

“ They need help with going to medical appointments. They need help with day-to-day tasks, perhaps recovering from surgery, and increasingly, people live far away from their family,” Kamali said. “Those kinds of things can necessitate needing to look outside of the biological family for care.”

The AARP also co-sponsored the measure. Kamali said the bill would align with the California Family Rights Act, which allows for unpaid time off to care for a “designated person.”

California will join at least seven states, including Colorado and Connecticut, that cover “chosen family” members in their paid family leave programs. The law takes effect July 1, 2028.

Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman presented the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards this morning. The awards ceremony will be held on March 15. You can watch the announcement above, or check back soon for a full list of nominees.

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After a warm spell, winter weather has returned to Southern California.

Thursday's rainfall will be on the drizzly, scattered end of things. The National Weather Service forecasts around a quarter inch of rainfall through Friday. Any snowfall will stick to the 8,000-foot elevation range Thursday, and drop down to around 6,000 feet by Friday.

As for temperatures, it's going to be another relatively cool day.

We're looking at highs in the mid 60s from the coasts to the valleys, and up to 68 degrees in the Inland Empire. In the Antelope Valley, temperatures will range from 54 to 63 degrees. And in Coachella Valley, expect daytime highs from 69 to 74 degrees and dry conditions.

The Sundance Film Festival begins for the last time in Park City, Utah, before heading to Boulder, Colo., next year. It's a bittersweet finale for the country's premier independent film festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1978.

With a gala, the festival plans to pay tribute to the late actor and director, who died of natural causes in September.

"Before he passed earlier this year, [Redford] shared with us this quote: 'Everybody has a story,'" says the festival's director, Eugene Hernandez. "This notion is such a great framing for a festival that has always been about finding and sharing with audiences the stories that come from all over the world."

This year, the festival will screen films that got their starts at Sundance, including Little Miss Sunshine, which went on to be nominated for best picture at the 2007 Oscars.

The festival will also screen a remastered print of the 1969 movie Downhill Racer, in which Redford plays a champion skier. Redford was also a producer on this indie film.

"He would tell this story year after year about getting Downhill Racer made," recalls Sundance senior programmer John Nein. "It became a way that he understood the notion of protecting independence and protecting the artistic voice of a film. He often used that when he talked to emerging filmmakers, to relate to the struggles that they had in getting their films made the way that they wanted to."

Nein says one way to recognize that legacy is by programming 40 percent of the slate from first-time filmmakers. More than 16,200 films were submitted from 164 countries. Throughout the year, the Sundance Institute hosts labs and programs and provides grants and fellowships for independent filmmakers.

Over the years, Sundance has been a launching pad for filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Ava DuVernay, The Coen brothers, Ryan Coogler, Chloe Zhao and Paul Thomas Anderson.

Another filmmaker whose career Sundance supported is Rachel Lambert, who says she was inspired by a film Redford directed: Ordinary People.

"It's a profound legacy a single human being can leave an entire nation's culture," she says of Redford. "It's remarkable."

Lambert will premiere her newest film, Carousel, a love story starring Chris Pine and Jenny Slate.

Also showing at Sundance: documentaries about Chicano theater pioneer Luis Valdez, singer Courtney Love, tennis star Billie Jean King, and South African leader Nelson Mandela.

Among the features in competition is The Gallerist with Natalie Portman and Jenna Ortega.

Another is The Invite, with Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Penélope Cruz and Edward Norton. The Invite's producer, David Permut, has been faithfully attending Sundance since the late 1980s, when he was in the audience for Steven Soderbergh's breakout Sex, Lies, and Videotape. 

"I never miss Sundance. I've been going every year since," says Permut. "I stay for 10 days, I'm not in and out like a lot of people from Hollywood when they're there with their film. I love the second week because it's basically cinephiles from all over the world."

Permut showed his first film at Sundance — Three of Hearts — in 1993. Last year, his film Twinless won the festival's audience award.

"I have 57 movies I want to see this coming Sundance," he says. "For me, it's about discovery."

Actress Hana Mana in <em>The Friend's House Is Here</em>. The film was smuggled out of Iran to premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

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Alma Linda Films

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Some filmmakers have gone to great lengths to get their work screened this year — including the Iranian film The Friend's House is Here.

The drama—set in Tehran's underground art scene — was shot under the radar of Iranian authorities. Amid the country's recent political turmoil, members of the film's crew had to drive 11 hours to smuggle the film over the Turkish border to get it to the festival. According to the film's publicist, the film's two main actresses were not heard from for weeks during Iran's recent unrest. The publicist says the women are now safe but have been denied visas by the United States to attend Sundance.
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Why it matters: Pasadena’s claim to the cheeseburger is a significant part of Southern California's food history, with direct ties to car culture and roadside dining.

Who's participating: Nearly 50 restaurants are taking part, including Dog Haus Biergarten, Pie 'n Burger, the Taproom at the Langham Huntington Hotel and Magnolia House. There are also week-only specials, including Tardino Bros. Italian Kitchen's chili cheeseburger pizza and Burrito Express' smashburger taco.

Why now: It’s a perfect opportunity to explore some of those Pasadena spots that you've been meaning to try (and a good way to fire up your palate before LAist’s citywide Tournament of Cheeseburgers later this year!).