Oliver Alpuche is a longtime downtown resident and former owner of gay bar Redline.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Topline:
One longtime resident and business owner of downtown is betting on the revitalization of downtown L.A. — and trying to do his part, one small business (block) at a time.
Why it matters: Downtown L.A. can feel like a microcosm of Los Angeles. The city's rich culture (including great food and interesting architecture) are on display, right alongside its tough issues (like homelessness and a housing crisis) — sometimes within the same block.
Why now: Downtown has been slow to rebound after the pandemic but things might be on an upswing again. There’s been a lot of investment.
#266: It’s been a minute since we explored a L.A. neighborhood on How To LA. We’ve been to Little Tokyo, West Adams and Sylmar before. Now, we’re in downtown.
But we’re not going to try to boil down the entire area in one episode.
Today, we’re going to get into the history of the ups and downs the area has seen over the years, and learn a lot from a walking tour of downtown put on by the Los Angeles Conservancy (led by docent Robin Holding).
(This episode was engineered by Hasmik Poghosyan and Donald Paz.)
#266: It’s been a minute since we explored a L.A. neighborhood on How To LA. We’ve been to Little Tokyo, West Adams and Sylmar before. Now, we’re in downtown.
But we’re not going to try to boil down the entire area in one episode.
Today, we’re going to get into the history of the ups and downs the area has seen over the years, and learn a lot from a walking tour of downtown put on by the Los Angeles Conservancy (led by docent Robin Holding).
(This episode was engineered by Hasmik Poghosyan and Donald Paz.)
#267: Oliver has lived in downtown L.A. for 16 years and he's a sort of ambassador to the neighborhood. He's also the founder of DTLA Proud and founder of the new, soon-to-be-open gay bar KISO in downtown's historic core.
#267: Oliver has lived in downtown L.A. for 16 years and he's a sort of ambassador to the neighborhood. He's also the founder of DTLA Proud and founder of the new, soon-to-be-open gay bar KISO in downtown's historic core.
Downtown L.A. can feel like a microcosm of Los Angeles. The city's rich culture (including great food and interesting architecture) are on display, right alongside its tough issues (like homelessness and a housing crisis) — sometimes within the same block.
It’s a neighborhood that can be tough to characterize, because you often hear some contradictory things about it.
When you bring up the area, there are things you hear from lots of folks: like how back in the '70s and '80s downtown was like a ghost town after the 9-to-5 work day … except for those who did enjoy the nightlife.
Downtown was definitely a regular hangout spot in earlier decades, even though it wasn’t popular for many. Historically, the neighborhood (and its surrounding areas) have catered to recently arrived populations — from the original Chinatown and Little Tokyo to the bars serving Latinos on Main and Third streets.
The New Jalisco, a bar that caters to queer Latino people.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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La Costeña is one of a few bars left in downtown L.A. that caters to the Latino immigrant community, as the surrounding area has gentrified.
Today, we’re going to get into the history of the ups and downs the area has seen over the years, and learn a lot from a walking tour of downtown put on by the Los Angeles Conservancy (led by docent Robin Holding).
Today, we’re going to get into the history of the ups and downs the area has seen over the years, and learn a lot from a walking tour of downtown put on by the Los Angeles Conservancy (led by docent Robin Holding).
Some see that rise, specifically rent prices, as something to be concerned about as it makes the area unaffordable to those who work there.
But others argue the rising prices can be seen as a sign of progress in a neighborhood that’s had its fair share of ups and downs.
“You can just look at the cost of rent and tell it's on the way up,” says J. Ellis McGinnis, who serves on the downtown L.A. neighborhood council. “The dodgier parts of it are becoming smaller. The Arts District is becoming more broad. The fashion district is becoming more vibrant, and so those are clear indicators that the city is revitalizing.”
Working and living downtown
One longtime resident and business owner of downtown is betting on that revitalization — and trying to do his part, one small business (block) at a time.
Oliver Alpuche, a homegrown Angeleno, has lived in the area since 2008 — the start of the Great Recession. His friends and family thought relocating to downtown in that era was a pretty terrible idea but, to him, downtown felt like home almost instantly. The neighbors in his condo building almost all knew each other, and would host weekly dinner parties. A few of them also worked downtown.
Oliver Alpuche, a longtime Downtown resident and former owner of gay bar The Redline. He's pictured in front of the location of the now closed Bar 107, where he's advising on the opening of a new gay bar.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Alpuche’s desire to create more community downtown eventually led him to open Redline, a now-defunct LGBTQ bar that opened in 2015 on Los Angeles Street. (Redline is where I met him and danced many nights away.) That same year, other queer bars opened up: Precinct and Bar Mattachine. DTLA Proud, a nonprofit he founded to further LGBTQ empowerment in the area, came to fruition shortly after.
“So many things were happening here and it was so amazing.” Alpuche says. “Never felt unsafe. It was great.”
He’s talking about all the small businesses that opened up — a dog grooming spot, a clothing store, a gym — all within a block or two of Redline. It wasn’t just downtown, L.A. was having a moment.
In 2015, about 68% of small businesses owners in L.A. County said they expected to grow the following year, according to a survey.
Other areas of downtown also had many well-established attractions by then — the Broad museum, a regular artwalk and Grand Central Market had gotten a facelift.
#267: Today, we’re looking at its present and possible future, largely through Oliver Alpuche's story.
Oliver has lived in downtown L.A. for 16 years and he's a sort of ambassador to the neighborhood. He's also the founder of DTLA Proud and founder of the new, soon-to-be-open gay bar KISO in downtown's historic core.
#267: Today, we’re looking at its present and possible future, largely through Oliver Alpuche's story.
Oliver has lived in downtown L.A. for 16 years and he's a sort of ambassador to the neighborhood. He's also the founder of DTLA Proud and founder of the new, soon-to-be-open gay bar KISO in downtown's historic core.
The momentum spilled over into the following years, until 2020.
“The pandemic hit and it kind of drained it of life,” he says. “And I feel like if you think about [downtown] as a tree or a forest … we went through a forest fire downtown.”
Sonoratown co-owner Jennifer Feltham once noted to me that even after COVID restrictions were lifted, the foot traffic in some downtown corridors wasn't the same. She pointed to the closing of many offices in the area as workplaces expanded to work-from-home options.
The now shuttered Nickel Diner.
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Samanta Helou Hernandez
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LAist
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Business owners had to reevaluate.
This led Alpuche to close Redline earlier this year and open a new gay bar with coworker Brad Nitz in downtown’s Historic Core. KISO, the new, bigger space, is tucked in The Barclay Hotel building on 4th Street, just a block away from Precinct in the Broadway corridor.
It’s a space that holds special significance to L.A.’s LGBTQ history. It used to be Score, the oldest gay bar in downtown. As Oliver describes it, “It was a Latin gay bar that had drag shows, dancers. You name it, it was here.”
After Score closed, it became Bar 107, which was more of a dive bar. Bar 107 opened in 2005, and closed 10 years later.
“So when it became available,” Oliver says, “we were like — we need to occupy [it]. We need to bring back a historic queer space, and modernize it of course, and bring it back to its glory.”
He also hopes the proximity to another gay bar, and other businesses, will help with foot traffic. “What I'm waiting for is for more people to bring their small businesses here so we can really flourish,” he says.
Supporting small businesses
Claudia Oliveira echoes his sentiment. She’s been on the Downtown L.A. Neighborhood Council for seven years.
“The more commerce that we have, the better the streets are, the more eyes on the streets we get,” she says. “But in order for the small business to survive, the city has to be more welcoming when it comes to offering them opportunities.”
She notes that those trying to open a new business downtown should be given more support as they navigate a complicated permit process.
Alpuche knows that complicated process well, having been through it with Redline, and now again as he prepares to open KISO. He says the bureaucracy of permits and paperwork takes far too long. He’s had to push back the opening of KISO a couple of times.
The other problem he’d love to see fixed: housing affordability.
“How do my bartenders, my barbacks, my security guards, how are they able to enjoy the city that they work in and play in, but they can't live here?” he says. “They make too much for transitional housing, but they don't make enough for just a standard apartment, because everything that is built is high-end luxury.”
Others betting on revitalization
Downtown has been slow to rebound after the pandemic, but things might be on an upswing again. There’s been a lot of investment.
The Broad recently announced it will expand 55,000 square feet with a new wing of the museum to host more gallery space. Construction begins next year and it’s set to be completed by the 2028 Olympics.
UCLA also made a big investment in downtown with its purchase of the Historic Trust Building on Spring Street last year as a way to expand its campus in other parts of the city.
A modern condo building next to longstanding businesses and buildings in downtown L.A.
The city is also taking steps to increase affordable housing downtown. In May of 2023, the city council unanimously approved new zoning rules that allow housing in areas where it was prohibited before. It also includes incentives for developers to build more affordable housing.
Garment workers and homeless service providers have raised concerns about the new rules displacing manufacturing and unhoused people, but it will take a while to find out — the plans are looking way ahead to 2040.
Keeping it alive
The opening of KISO is coming soon. Alpuche is confident they will have a soft opening in May, and be fully open to the public by Pride Month.
He jokes by saying, “We’re going to make DTLA gay again.” But it’s also something he’s serious about.
He’s doing all he can to make KISO a success, and he’s hopeful about the possibility of a renewed, thriving nightlife in downtown — like there was before the pandemic.
And for all its challenges, the area still does have a lot going for it.
From great restaurants to museums, and a lot of interesting history to dive into, “downtown has so much to offer,” Oliver says.
And in talking to residents, there’s a sense of hope that downtown could be on the brink of another era of revitalization — Oliver, for one, is betting on it.
How to LA associate editor Aaricka Washington contributed reporting.
David Wagner
covers housing in Southern California, where a massive post-fire rebuilding effort is underway.
Published April 1, 2026 4:44 PM
Fencing lines a sidewalk next to a home under construction.
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Erin Stone
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LAist
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Topline:
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Council member is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Who’s behind it: Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The details: The plan calls for returning the 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
Read on … to learn whether economists think the proposed tax relief could make a difference.
As Los Angeles homeowners grapple with the expense of rebuilding after last year’s devastating fires, an L.A. City Councilmember is putting forward an idea that could lower some costs.
Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the Pacific Palisades, has introduced a motion to explore waiving part of the city’s portion of the local sales tax for fire victims who purchase rebuilding materials in the city.
The 1% of the local 9.75% sales tax that goes into the city’s general fund would be given back to consumers under the proposal. The waiver could apply to lumber, appliances and other rebuilding goods purchased within the city.
The motion, introduced Friday by Park and seconded by Councilmember John Lee, says: “The City should do everything within its power to alleviate the financial burden for these residents and businesses in order to facilitate their return and stabilize the Pacific Palisades community.”
Would it make much of a difference?
Economists told LAist the proposal could help many homeowners mitigate the high cost of rebuilding, but likely wouldn’t tip the scales for under-insured, under-resourced property owners.
“It wouldn't hurt if it's very well designed and easy to use,” said Alexander Meeks, a director at the Santa Monica-based Milken Institute. “But I'm not sure if it's really going to tackle the scale of the financial challenge that survivors are facing.”
Meeks noted that the tax waiver wouldn’t lower up-front costs such as environmental testing, architectural design and permitting. And it may not help homeowners sourcing raw materials from outside the city.
Zhiyun Li, a UCLA Anderson School of Management economist, said the waiver could help some homeowners justify the additional cost of rebuilding more fire-safe structures.
“Homeowners must typically pay out of pocket to upgrade to IBHS+ standards, which are more stringent,” Li said. “The tax waiver could encourage upgrading to IBHS+ standards or investing more in mitigation, thereby reducing future risk and improving the likelihood of maintaining insurance coverage.”
What’s next for the proposal?
The proposed tax relief would not be available to properties that have been sold since the fires started in January 2025.
The motion has been sent to the City Council’s budget and fire recovery committees. If approved by the full council, it would require the city administrative officer, the Office of Finance and the city attorney to report back to the council within 60 days on options for crafting a tax relief plan.
The motion calls for the report to consider factors such as how to minimize the burden of administering the tax relief, what documentation homeowners would have to submit and what it would cost the city to oversee the program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September. Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
About the deal: The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate. Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
What's next: Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects. Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS. If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
Senate and House Republican leadership have resurrected a stalled plan to fund the Department of Homeland Security after a record 47-day funding lapse.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a joint statement on Wednesday that the House will take up a measure passed by the Senate last week to fund most of DHS except Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol through the end of September.
Republicans would then attempt to fund ICE and Border Patrol for three years using a party-line budget reconciliation bill that would not require support from Democrats.
"In following this two-track approach, the Republican Congress will fully reopen the Department, make sure all federal workers are paid, and specifically fund immigration enforcement and border security for the next three years so that those law-enforcement activities can continue uninhibited," Thune and Johnson wrote.
The agreement comes nearly a week after House Republicans dismissed an identical plan, refusing to take up the Senate-passed measure and instead passing a 60-day short term funding bill for all of DHS that had little chance of overcoming Democratic opposition in the Senate.
Johnson called the agreement a "joke" and President Donald Trump declined to publicly endorse the deal. Trump had previously resisted any package that did not include his push to overhaul federal elections known as the Save America Act.
"I think any deal they make, I'm pretty much not happy with it," Trump told reporters last week.
Democrats welcomed the agreement as in line with their pledge not to give ICE any more money without reforms after immigration enforcement agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. But the deal does not include any of the policy demands Democrats are pressing for, such as a ban on masks for immigration enforcement officers and requiring warrants issued by a judge, not just the agency, to enter homes.
"For days, Republican divisions derailed a bipartisan agreement, making American families pay the price for their dysfunction," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote in a statement Wednesday. "Throughout this fight, Senate Democrats never wavered."
Trump seemed to bless the revived plan earlier Wednesday, writing on social media that he wants a party-line bill to fund immigration enforcement on his desk by June 1.
"We are going to work as fast, and as focused, as possible to replenish funding for our Border and ICE Agents, and the Radical Left Democrats won't be able to stop us," Trump wrote.
Despite the shutdown, ICE has been minimally impacted because Republican lawmakers approved $75 billion for ICE through another party-line budget reconciliation bill last year.
Congress is on a two-week recess, but the Senate and House could move to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP as early as Thursday using a procedure known as unanimous consent that allows the chambers to circumvent formal voting as long as no member objects.
Even during a recess when most members are not in Washington, this could be unpredictable, especially in the House, where many hard-line conservatives oppose a deal that does not fully fund DHS.
"Let's make this simple: caving to Democrats and not paying CBP and ICE is agreeing to defund Law Enforcement and leaving our borders wide open again," Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote on X. "If that's the vote, I'm a NO."
If a member does object, that could require waiting for another vote when all members are back from recess.
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Logan Cattaneo, 6, poses for a photo with the Dodgers mascot during Dodgers Dreamteam PlayerFest at Dodgers Stadium in 2024.
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Michael Blackshire
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Getty Images
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Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
An aerial view of snow-capped trees after a winter snowstorm near Soda Springs on Feb. 20, 2026.
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Stephen Lam, San Francisco Chronicle
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via Getty Images
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Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
‘It’s pretty bizarre up here’
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
‘A haystack fire’
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
