The Brief

My first Los Angeles Sparks game was so much more fun than I’d expected. In truth, that’s in large part because I really didn’t know what to expect. Until the last couple of years, the WNBA wasn’t something I paid much attention to.

Last year, I watched some of the NCAA women’s basketball tournament for the first time, and did this year too, with my sister. It was super exciting and got me interested in the WNBA too.

I went to my first game this summer, and the Sparks, despite being in last place in the league, beat the top-ranked New York Liberty. I got to see incredibly talented players who I’d just watched win medals at the Paris Olympics — like Sabrina Ionescu, Brianna Stewart, and Dearica Hamby — practice and play in person.

Then, there were the celebrity sightings — Leslie Jones, Jason Sudeikis, and Rosie O’Donnell among them. The atmosphere was like a party, with a DJ and an amazing dance crew whose members are all over 40. And Jones, who I knew was a mega Sparks fan, was up on the Jumbotron screen in the fourth quarter to hype up the crowd.

Seeing fans wearing shirts that read, “Everyone watches women’s sports,” and “I watched women’s basketball before it was cool,” I kept wondering why it had taken me so long to take notice of women’s professional sports.

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#311: The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have wrapped, and right now in the sports world (or at least here in the U.S.) a lot of the focus is shifting to the start of football season. But today on How To LA, we’re focusing on the increased attention that women’s sports have seen in recent years, and how that's playing out in L.A. Helping us do that are some Angel City ultra fans, the club's co-founder and president, some long-time Sparks fans, and Sparks players Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby.

Angel City fans, Sparks players, and renewed interest in women's sports

#311: The 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games have wrapped, and right now in the sports world (or at least here in the U.S.) a lot of the focus is shifting to the start of football season. But today on How To LA, we’re focusing on the increased attention that women’s sports have seen in recent years, and how that's playing out in L.A. Helping us do that are some Angel City ultra fans, the club's co-founder and president, some long-time Sparks fans, and Sparks players Azurá Stevens and Dearica Hamby.

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A fan in the making

For so many reasons, I should have been a fan much sooner.

In 1997, when the WNBA debuted and I was a preteen, I was on my grade school’s girls basketball team. Admittedly, I didn’t really love playing the sport myself. I played basketball (and volleyball and softball), mostly, because my friends were doing it and because I had fun being part of a team.

Growing up in Anaheim, I went to Angels’ baseball games with my friends and family. I was excited when a Rams football player visited our second grade class and when we took a field trip to see the Ducks hockey players practice. But the only women’s pro sports I remember watching were gymnastics or figure skating, rarely, on TV.

In an old yearbook I found, the text over our girls’ basketball team photo read, “Future WNBA Players.” In reality though, the WNBA wasn’t really on my radar until recently.

Me at the peak of my basketball career at St. Boniface Parish School in Anaheim, CA.

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Courtesy of Monica Bushman

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And I’m not alone when it comes to feeling like I’ve only recently woken up to how fun it can be to watch women’s basketball, and women’s sports in general.

Increased attention for women’s sports

Fan interest in women’s sports has increased over the last decade and seen a notable uptick in the last couple of years — from record-setting viewership of the FIFA Women’s World Cup final back in 2015, to 2024’s record-breaking women’s NCAA college basketball championship game, which drew a larger TV audience than the men’s game for the first time ever.

That’s had a spillover effect for the WNBA, with superstar rookies — like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese — drawing big crowds and boosting ratings this year. When it comes to the Sparks specifically, the team saw a 30% increase in season ticket sales this year compared with 2023.

Interest in the National Women’s Soccer League is still making gains too. Soccer fans successfully rallied to bring the Angel City Football Club to L.A. in 2020, and the 2023 Women’s World Cup generated the most revenue in the tournament’s history.

This summer, I met a wide range of Sparks and Angel City fans — some who were new to supporting the teams, and others who’d been fans of women’s pro basketball and soccer for decades.

In Angel City FC’s case, since the team itself has only been playing since 2022, really everyone is a pretty recent fan, though many of them are longtime soccer-lovers (including some fans of L.A.'s last, short-lived women's pro soccer team, the Los Angeles Sol). And even in the short time that ACFC has been around, it’s seen a lot of growth in terms of both fan and investor attention.

A sign in the supporter group section at BMO Stadium before Angel City Football Club's match against the Chicago Red Stars this September.

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Monica Bushman / LAist

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As a newcomer, I expected to feel a little out of place heading out to my first pro games, but the atmosphere and fans at both BMO Stadium (which Angel City shares with Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Football Club) and Crypto.com Arena (which the Sparks share with the Lakers and Kings) were super welcoming.

As Angel City FC’s co-founder and president Julie Uhrman put it before a recent match, “women’s sports fans are the best sports fans in the world.”

Her reasoning?

“Because historically, and even to today, we make it really hard for them to be sports fans. We make it hard for them to find the games on television. We make it hard for them to come to games. And that's changing,” Uhrman says. “The reality is they've always been there. We're just making it easier now.”

As for when Uhrman noticed a change: “It began, I believe, following the 2019 U.S. Women's National Team World Cup where we won again. We saw it again at the World Cup this past year and again with the Olympics where when you get the opportunity to see these female athletes, you see how incredibly talented they are and then you realize they play in your backyard.”

The ‘ultra fans’

Angel City is also very intentional about creating a welcoming environment. “That's one thing that I'm so proud of the Angel City team for creating is an environment that is fun, inclusive, diverse, and welcoming,” Uhrman says. “So whether you're family, or you're older, or you're part of the LGBTQ community, everyone feels like they have a place here.”

The community feeling, Uhrman added, all begins with the team’s supporters, or “ultra fans.”

Ruby Badio with the ACFC supporter group Mosaic 1781.

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Monica Bushman / LAist

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Angel City has six independent supporter groups, all with their own group names, logos, and social media accounts. They have their own section in the stadium (with seats that are less expensive because you don’t get assigned seats and many fans choose to stand). Supporter groups come up with chants for the team, and some of them play drums during the match to hype up the crowd.

Outside of the matches, the supporter groups organize tailgates and plan game watches, different activities, and community service events.

All of the members I spoke with were friendly and welcoming. Ruby Badio with supporter group Mosaic 1781 told me her advice to anyone who wants to join, is to check out the groups’ social media accounts, send them a DM, or just come to a game early and meet people in person. Mosaic 1781 even has a buddy system that they use for newcomers who might be coming to a game solo.

“That way you don’t feel alone,” Badio said. “We kind of teach you the ropes.”

The player perspective

When it comes to the Sparks, as a member of the media, I was able to talk to a couple of players ahead of a recent game. I wanted to get their perspective on the recent renewed interest in the league and ask what fan support means to them.

Azurá Stevens, who’s been in the WNBA since 2018 and with the Sparks since 2023, said she’s seen an increase in interest over the years since she was a rookie: ”Definitely in the viewership and just how much attention we're getting as a league…It's exciting.”

Her fellow Sparks forward Dearica Hamby agreed. Hamby started out in the WNBA in 2015 playing for the San Antonio Stars, and like Stevens, has also been with the Sparks since 2023.

“I’ve kind of been on both sides of the spectrum,” Hamby said. “I played in San Antonio for a few years. We were at the AT&T Center [now the Frost Bank Center], and there were literally like 200 people in there. So to kind of be a part of the growth and to literally live it, it's been a humbling experience.”

When describing the support she’s seen from Sparks fans, Hamby said: “I think they're definitely loyal. You know, we're going through a rebuild right now, but we still see the same court side people every game.”

At the game I went to, I met some Sparks fans who — like me — had only started coming to games this year and others who’ve been supporters for decades.

Debbie Johnson told me she’s had season tickets for 20 years and encourages anyone who hasn’t been to a Sparks game in person, to check it out for themselves.

“The players are exciting and I just enjoy being at the game,” Johnson said. “It’s been tremendous. So much fun and joy.”

What to know if you're a newbie fan

We asked our LAist followers on Facebook for their advice to new fans about attending games at BMO Stadium or Crypto.com Arena. Here’s some of their tips:

When heading to BMO Stadium…

• “Best food at BMO is right outside the stadium. There’s usually a food cart serving amazing birria tacos outside the northeast entrance. Birrieria ChiVazquez.” — Arik Kadosh
• “If you do drive to BMO avoid the MLK exit on the southbound 110. It is so slow getting off there that you can easily miss the beginning of your game. Parking a few blocks away is much cheaper than using the ‘official’ lots.” — Jessica Yarger
• “Best way to get to BMO is by taking the E Line (formerly Expo Line). Why hassle with parking?” — Brenda Thomas

When heading to Crypto.com…

• “Call it Staples [Center] and take the Metro!” — Peter Prietto-Murray
• “You can park for cheap at the Fig at 7th shopping center if you validate your ticket at Target, then walk across the street to the 7th St Metro Center, where it's a short ride to BMO, Crypto or the Coliseum. There are also some decent places to eat at Fig at 7th” — Dan Saborio

My tip: Remember to check bag policies! BMO requires clear bags and Crypto.com only allows small clutches.

While the Sparks’ last home game is today (Sept. 17), there’s also an away game on Sept. 19. And there’s still time to catch an Angel City match this season. You can check their schedule here.

And if you’ve never been to a game before, take a lesson from a latecomer like me — after you do, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t sooner.

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.