The Brief

As a kid who went to high school and college (go, Matadors!) in the 818, I know how sleepy the northeast San Fernando Valley can feel.

Sure, now there are cute brunch places and street corridors that almost feel city-like, pero no match to Highland Park’s York Avenue.

That isn’t shade to my dear section of the Valley, that’s just how things have been. But just because things are sleepy, it doesn’t mean arts and culture — predominantly defined by Latino and immigrant communities — isn’t here.

Enter Sergio Amalfitano and his shop, The Midnight Hour Records.

Records, apparel and music center

Midnight Hour is a musical hub in the city of San Fernando. It's been located at the downtown San Fernando Mall since August 2021. The space houses records more than anything, but they also sell clothing, tapes, toys, jewelry, posters, socks, pins. Aside from the records, I would say it's the perfect gift shop for the music or the 818 lover.

The space also transforms into a venue supporting local artists, like photographers and musicians. At the center, there’s a medium-sized platform stage, and Sergio zig zags the record shelves and cases so a few hundred people can fit into the space.

Sergio Amalfitano, owner of The Midnight Hour Records in San Fernando.

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Julie Leopo

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“I just try to use it as much as possible as a community space, not just commodities,” Amalfitano says. “I try to bring in culture and records and music and expression.”

The expression he’s mentioning is rooted in Latino and Chicano culture — spanning from rock en español, punk to boogie tunes and funk. Amalfitano calls the varying genres of music the Southern California culture of “everybody clashing and creating this thing together.”

Amalfitano, who lives in neighboring Sylmar and is of Argentine descent, and a product of the other valley — the SGV — wanted to better represent the talent, artists and vendors who have been here for years.

The shop has hosted punk shows for local bands like Cosmic Joke and events like the 818 Zine Fest. In February, the shop will host a pop up market, “Valley Times Day.”

Music history in the 818

Just a few blocks away from his shop in San Fernando, Dawnbreaker Studios once stood and delivered American hits. It was the studio for Seals and Crofts, and artists like Michael Jackson and Chaka Khan recorded there. Boogie was one genre that came out of that studio.

Amalfitano also gives a nod to guitarist Al McKay (from Earth, Wind and Fire) who had a band in the area, and Richie Valens, whom he considers the grandfather of Chicano rock, from nearby Pacoima. Other local shops back then, he says, put out records that ended up on the East Side Story music collection.

“These are kinds of things that mean a lot to our culture — lowrider culture, Chicano, Latino culture,” he says. “They were DIY. They weren't given the time of day by mainstream record labels, so they put it up themselves.”

Flags, clothing, and accessories relevant to Southern California music culture are sold at The Midnight Hour Records.

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Julie Leopo

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Bicultural, bilingual identities

As I chat with Amalfitano, I’m reminded of the bilingual and/or bicultural setting many of us L.A. Latino kids grow up with. Listening to hip-hop and R&B and later going to quinceañeras and bumping cumbias and norteñas. He also mentions the backyard punk shows that blend audiences in the same night — rockeros and later cholos or boogie fans.

Amalfitano says he’s always wanted to represent that at his shop.

“I feel like it's the Selena thing,” he says, referring to Selena Quintanilla’s “no sabo” moments. “We're not one thing too much or one thing the other way, you know? So we try to cross that line or walk that line of being American and Latin at the same time.”

It's like Amalfitano is trying to help kids like him — Latino, bicultural, from a working-class background — feel seen.

“I wish I had this type of space when I was a kid,” Amalfitano says. “Not too many existed like this. I'm just trying to fulfill that dream as a kid.”

I was surprised when I walked into the shop and saw two Pride flags hanging at the storefront. I’m not sure I would’ve seen this display of allyship at a San Fernando business 10 years ago.

The Midnight Hour Records store front at the downtown San Fernando Mall.

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Julie Leopo

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for LAist

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He’s gotten a few negative comments about the flags, but says he wants it to be known that they’re accepting of everybody and wants queer folks to feel represented as part of the northeast Valley community.

Maybe that’s why I loved being in his shop so much: I also wish I had this space as a gay, Latino kid in my sleepy northeast Valley when I lived here.

Artist recommendations

We asked him what bands and artists to watch from the Valley.

Mal Form

Fatal Wounds

God's Hate

Cosmic Joke

Tough Front

If you go

The Midnight Hour Records store is open daily, 12 - 7 p.m. at the downtown San Fernando Mall.

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

The state’s primary utility regulator is under new management. Gov. Gavin Newsom promoted Commissioner John Reynolds to president of the California Public Utilities Commission this week as part of a “new phase” of Newsom’s effort to address sky-high power bills.

Former President Alice Reynolds will be reassigned later this month to a board of governors position at the California Independent Systems Operator. The two Reynolds are not related.

“The appointment underscores a renewed focus on cutting costs and improving performance as extreme heat, wildfire risk and upgrades to the electric grid drive new demands on the system,” Newsom’s office said in a press release.

Reynolds’ focus in this position, the release said, will include lowering utility bills through oversight, making sure money spent on infrastructure does not run aground of affordability and ensuring “utilities deliver results for ratepayers–without slowing California’s clean energy progress.”

California has a mandated goal of reaching 100% carbon-free energy by 2045. At the same time, state residents pay the second-highest electric rates in the U.S. after Hawaii, according to the most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration

Reynolds was appointed by Newsom to the utility commission first in 2021 and again in 2022. Before that, he served as managing counsel for autonomous vehicle company Cruise. Reynolds faced criticism in 2023 for his time at Cruise, when safety incidents led the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to call for his resignation and regulators to revoke Cruise’s autonomous vehicle permits. The commission oversees aspects of autonomous vehicle regulation in California.

Outgoing president Reynolds was appointed the commission’s top position in late 2021 after three years as Newsom’s senior energy advisor. Newsom called her “one of my most trusted advisors on energy policy” in his release.

Newsom also this week appointed Christine Harada to the board to fill the open commissioner seat. Harada was most recently the undersecretary of the California Government Operations Agency, and served as a senior advisor in former president Joe Biden’s Office of Management and Budget.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

The U.S. Supreme Court said President Trump's tariffs policies under IEEPA, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, are unconstitutional, dealing a major blow to the president's signature economic policy.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 6-3 opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

At issue in the case was the implementation of Trump's campaign pledge to impose massive tariffs on foreign imports. After his inauguration, Trump issued an executive order that initially imposed a tariff of at least 10% on goods from most countries doing business with the United States. Goods from countries like China have been hit with much higher tariffs — up to 145%, though they have since come down. Imports from allies like Canada and Mexico have been taxed at 25%; Canada's rate was later increased to 35%. 

But the up-and-down, fluctuating tariffs around the world spooked American businesses, prompting a court challenge, contending that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing the tariffs.

In some two dozen previous cases, the Supreme Court has been largely receptive to Trump's claims of presidential authority, but those victories came on the Supreme Court's emergency docket, allowing Trump policies to take effect on a temporary basis while the litigation played out in the lower courts.

In contrast, the tariff cases are the real deal, with the court having ordered full briefing and expedited arguments in the case, and offering the justices the first real opportunity to say "no" to the president.  

On Friday, the justices did just that.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Copyright 2026 NPR

A funk band plays their first show after the release of their debut album. The band is signed to a small-time record label owned by the co-lead singer’s brother. However, tension comes to a head when an executive from Columbia Records looks to sign away the band during the show.

This lore is what leads Brassroots District: LA ‘74, a live show that’s half concert and half immersive theater located at Catch One on Pico Boulevard.

This story concept is the brainchild of musician Ari Herstand and music executive Andrew Leib.

The genesis of the idea, according to Herstand, came from two experiences: a trip to New Orleans where he was inspired by the city’s funk and soul music scene and a trip to New York where he watched the city’s Sleep No More immersive play. He took the idea back to Brassroots District’s co-creator Andrew Leib and formed the show’s first iteration during the COVID pandemic as an outdoor show in a parking lot pegged to a fictional venue.

“ The concept of this was — the year’s 1973. Brassroots District is this hot band in L.A. on the rise,’” Herstand said. “We get our big break opening for Sly and the Family Stone at the fabulous Orbit Arena in L.A. But we're not opening inside the arena. We're opening the parking lot tailgate hang outside the arena, but it's our big break because a record label’s coming to check us out.”

Transforming into the 70’s & what theater-goers can expect

Audience members attending this latest iteration of the show are encouraged to dress in 70’s style threads. When they arrive at Catch One, they’re asked to put their phones in black bags to avoid using them during the show. (Don’t worry, the phones will still be on your person).

From there, patrons enter the venue and meet “Gem,” who guides the experience of the show. The show, directed by DeMone Seraphin, engages people to participate in activities all throughout the venue, including group dances led by fan club leader “Cassie the Brassie,” backstage breathing exercises, call and response in songs and a soul train line on the dance floor.

The music is performed by a nine-piece funk band led by co-lead singers “Copper Jones” (played by Herstand) and “Ursa Major” (played by Celeste Butler Clayton). And the music pays homage to popular 70’s bands like Sly and the Family Stone.

 ”My whole family definitely is stuck in the seventies, so it was really nice to come. Like I grew up with this type of music," said audience member Brandon Lipsett.

Meanwhile throughout the night, different storylines show tension on the dance floor between the two label owners, the band and many side characters.

At a recent performance, before Brassroots District came onstage, LAist talked with “Barry Baker,” a reporter embedded within the show who’s looking to uncover a big story brewing throughout the night all on his vintage Sony tape recorder.

“ There's a lot of big personalities in the band, so I'm hoping it goes smoothly for them,” he said, alluding to the tension between the record labels throughout the night. “But if it doesn't, it's kind of good for us.”

The storylines all play out simultaneously, which Brassroots District organizer Herstand explains are by design.

 ”[It] is a reason for you to come back because there's no way that you'll be able to pick up all the different scenes and storylines just attending one time,” Herstand said.

References to Los Angeles

Beyond historical tidbits on Richard Nixon and Vietnam that dominated the news in 1974, characters in the show make references to the Southland, including the Malibu Pier and Crenshaw Boulevard.

“ It's very important to us to honor the tradition of Los Angeles, of music, of cultures,” Herstand said, “like what is happening in Los Angeles in 1974, politically, socioeconomically, culturally, racially, all of that… And then the allusions to the bands that are coming up in L.A., the clubs in L.A. like the Troubadour, these institutions of Los Angeles. So, because we love L.A. so much and L.A. is our home now, we wanna honor all of that and really pay tribute to the history.”

And the character of Gem pays homage to Catch One’s original owner Jewel Thais-Williams, who was known for helming the L.A. nightclub as a safe space for the Black LGBTQ+ community.

 ”We wanna respect and continue the legacy of the space that we're in. We believe that [in] this venue, the walls can speak and they're alive,” Herstand said. “And so there is a bit of her legacy that is written into this current script with Catch One.”

Brassroots District: LA ‘74 runs until March 28. Learn more about the show here.

We're going to wake up to a chilly and cloudy morning, courtesy of yesterday's winter storm. There's still a chance that some light snow will dust lower elevations, including the Grapevine for this morning.

Once the sun moves in, temperatures will warm up to mid-50s to around 60 degrees from the coasts to the valleys. The Inland Empire could see frost and dense fog in the morning, followed by temperatures from 50 to 57 degrees.

The warmest area will be the Coachella Valley, where highs will reach up to 66 degrees. Meanwhile in the Antelope Valley, it's going to feel crisp with daytime highs from 41 degrees to 50 degrees.