The Brief

A lucky few got a glimpse of the interior of the revamped Vista Theater on Sunset Boulevard last week, one of the last remaining single-screen movie theaters in the Southland, when owner Quentin Tarantino held a special screening of the 1993 cult classic True Romance.

The Vista — with a new 70 mm projection system, sound system, and 21-seat screening room and café named “Coffy,” after the 1973 Pam Grier film — opens officially on Friday at 4473 Sunset Dr., with horror maestro Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving.

The rebirth is the latest chapter in the century-long saga of one of L.A.’s most famous historic theaters. “The history of the Vista is quite surprising, and full of ups and down, and I for one find its resilience to be the most exciting part,” says Celine Vacher, of the Los Feliz Neighborhood Council.

To tell its story, you need to go all the way back to the birth of Hollywood.

Sunset Boulevard

Filmmaking came to the East Hollywood/Los Feliz area in 1912, when producers L.L. Burns and Harry Revier leased a fig orchard on Sunset Boulevard. On this farmland they built a rustic studio, which was soon renamed Reliance Film Company. Reliance quickly hired pioneering director D. W. Griffith, who brought along his silent film stars Lillian and Dorothy Gish.

Griffith eventually gained control of the studio, which he renamed Fine Arts Studio. In 1914, Griffith built a sprawling replica of a southern antebellum town around the junction of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards. This set was used for his revolutionary, highly controversial 1915 racist epic The Birth of a Nation, which many historians point to as the first blockbuster full-length feature.

The next movie Griffith set at Sunset Junction would become part of Los Angeles lore. In this quiet rural neighborhood, still dotted with farmhouses and ranches, Griffith constructed a towering plaster set for his 1916 epic Intolerance. Meant to portray the ancient palace of Belshazzar, King of Babylon, the set covered an astounding three city blocks.

“Belshazzar’s Feast beneath Egyptian blue skies,” writer Kenneth Anger wrote in his infamous 1959 expose Hollywood Babylon, “spread out under the blazing California sun: more than four thousand extras recruited from L.A. paid an unheard-of two dollars a day plus box lunch, plus carfare.”

A large crowd congregates outside of Bard's Hollywood Theatre to celebrate its grand opening

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Los Angeles Public Library

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After filming, the set remained up in some form until 1922, becoming a playground for local children. By then, the area was becoming a hub for silent productions, crew bungalows, and stars’ mansions. “Los Feliz was home to Walt Disney’s very first studios, Cecil B. DeMille’s estate where Charlie Chaplin once resided, and even the Vitagraph studios where parts of The Jazz Singer (the first movie with sound) were filmed,” says Vacher.

Egyptian revival style

So it was fitting that the theatrical impresario Lou Bard chose to build the latest in his string of theaters at the fabled intersection of Hollywood and Sunset Boulevards, known as “the great crossroads of Los Angeles.” On Oct. 9, 1923, the 838-seat single screen theater, said to have been called Lou Bard Playhouse or Bard’s Hollywood, opened with a special vaudeville show and the short Tips, starring child star Baby Peggy — who also appeared on stage.

The theater design was as trendy as it could be. Designed by architect Lewis A. Smith, the exterior was constructed in the popular Spanish Mission Revival style. But it was the interior that was truly a feast for the imagination. Designed in the peculiarly western “Egyptian revival” style (popularized by the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in 1922), the interior was a brightly colored riot of golden pharaohs, goddesses, and lamps shaped like pyramids.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the theater was the site for all important industry previews during the golden age of silent film. But Bard was not as successful as he would have liked, and he reportedly sold the theater in 1927. It was renamed the Vista.

Over the decades, the Vista went through many owners. But it was reliably a popular neighborhood theater, even as larger, showier movie palaces sprang up all over Los Angeles.

A crowd of movie-goers attend a showing of Mildred Pierce, starring Joan Crawford, at the Vista Theater.

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Los Angeles Public Library

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Controversies over the years

Yet the small but mighty theater would find itself the center of controversies which cemented its place in history. In 1948, the theater capitalized on its historic location by announcing a revival of the problematic The Birth of a Nation, only days after D.W. Griffith's death on July 23, 1948. The Hollywood Reporter noted the choice, in a short article headlined “Opportunism!” It read:

Disturbed Angelenos immediately took action. Allen M. Metcalf, a local candidate from the Progressive Party, went to the theater to confront the management. “The manager of the theater,” the Los Angeles Times reported, “pointed out that the movie showed the skeleton in the closet of the nation and denied that the cinema was incitement for a riot.”

Progressives were unconvinced. Around 20 Black and white civil rights activists formed a picket line in an attempt to block customers from seeing the film. However, the revival continued.

Charges of un-American values

Controversy came again in the 1950s, when the theater reopened as the Vista Continental. Capitalizing on the growing popularity of foreign films, the theater boasted that it was the only SoCal theater showing first-run films from the Soviet Union. This led locals to complain that the theater was promoting un-American, Communist values at the height of the Cold War. But the theater soldiered on.

The biggest test for the Vista came in the 1960s. During that era, the theater began showing pornographic films, including same-sex films. Irate, the city revoked its operating permit. The Vista fought back, and in 1968 the case was heard in the California Supreme Court.

The Vista won the case, in a decisive blow against anti-gay governance. “The court ruled, in a 5-2 decision, that the law is ‘overly broad’ and threatens to deny theater operators their rights of free speech and press,” the Los Angeles Times reported in June 1968.

“The Court ruled that Stewart Burton, manager of the Vista Theater, should be granted a writ of prohibition against the Los Angeles Board of police commissioners, which did not renew his license.”

Over the next three decades, the theater changed hands several times before it was purchased by Landmark Theatres in 1982. It became known for reviving classic films like Harold and Maude and Gone with the Wind, but business was slow, as VHS decimated art houses nationwide.

A neighborhood gathering place

In 1997, the Vista was purchased by Lance Alspaugh’s Vintage Theater Group. Alspaugh made community outreach a priority. It became known for its very own Walk of Fame, featuring handprints and footprints from stars like John Landis, Elvira, Tatum and Ryan O’Neal, and Baby Peggy herself.

“It’s been an integral part of Los Feliz because it’s intentionally embedded itself in the community,” Vacher says. “Take the longtime manager [Victor Martinez], for example, every big opening night he greets moviegoers in full costume. It’s become a tradition and locals all have their own sets of memories with him as he makes everyone feel like a welcomed friend.”

The Vista became an important gathering place in the area, known for its welcoming atmosphere, epitomized by Martinez (who is reportedly currently on the board of the theater). The theater was rented out for weddings, late night screenings, and was the home of Thomas Starr King Middle School’s annual animation and film festival. There was a Secret Movie Club, and local filmmakers were thrilled when they had premieres at their neighborhood theater.

“I had my first movie premiere at the Vista, which we sold out,” says filmmaker Kestrin Pantera, whose film Let’s Ruin it with Babies premiered in 2013. “It was an…amazing all-night karaoke party and a dream come true to be on the marquee.”

The pandemic shuttered the Vista, which closed in 2020. The marquee, which read “To Be Continued…” became a hopeful sight for weary travelers driving down Sunset Boulevard during the shutdown.

What Tarantino says is next for the theater

But the Vista had not taken its final bow. In 2021, it was announced that director Quentin Tarantino, who saved the historic New Beverly Cinema when he purchased it in 2007, had bought the movie house. “I would not have handed the keys to the Vista over to just anybody,” Alspaugh told the Los Angeles Times.

“It’s no secret that Tarantino often pays homage to Hollywood history in his films, so it feels all the more appropriate that someone with such reverence for the art of filmmaking would be the new custodian of this iconic theater in its iconic location,” Vacher says.

Tarantino vowed to show only movies on film at the new Vista, instead of digital projection. He also clearly valued the communal aspects Alspaugh had fostered over the years. “I do think boutique cinemas will actually thrive at this time,” Tarantino told the Los Angeles Times. “I got a living room. I want to go to a movie theater.”

Over the last two years the Vista has undergone a dramatic makeover. “Quentin basically retained the auditorium — it’s intact, it’s been rehabbed and it’s still new and beautiful, but the overall auditorium is in intact condition,” said Alspaugh, who has remained as chief operating officer.

“The intention is to run mostly first-run and occasional classics or repertory film,” Alspaugh told Variety’s Pat Saperstein. “There will be sections of time where you might see classic repertory titles on film for brief interludes. In the future, you’ll see some late shows of classic films and I think you’ll see morning shows of classic films.”

Whatever happens, cinephiles are just happy that their favorite historic theater is again part of the community where it has thrived for a century.

“The entire neighborhood has been anxiously awaiting the Vista’s comeback,” Vacher says. “It’s been on everyone’s lips. We’re all so eager to see that corner revived and active, no doubt we’ll all be flocking to it trying to make up for lost time.”

Picking the next insurance commissioner could be one of the most important decisions Californians make for their wallets this election year.

They may have seen a big increase in their insurance premiums in the past couple of years. They might know someone whose homeowners policy got canceled. Or perhaps they’re trying to rebuild after last year’s deadly Los Angeles County fires.

If you’re not sure what the insurance commissioner does, here’s a rundown:

• Regulates the nation’s largest property and casualty insurance market, which includes policies for homeowners, businesses, landlords, renters and drivers. 
• Leads the Insurance Department, which reviews and approves premium rate increases. 
• Regulates life, health and workers’ compensation insurance. 

Whoever is elected to succeed Commissioner Ricardo Lara will have a long to-do list. For the past few years, insurance companies have paused writing homeowner policies or reduced their presence in California. That’s starting to change because of industry-friendly regulations Lara put in place, but premiums are still rising and the market cannot be described as healthy yet.

The L.A.-area fires last year highlighted other problems, such as homeowners dealing with insurers delaying or denying claims, discovering they were underinsured, or finding out there are no standards for smoke-damage claims. Frustrated fire survivors called for Lara to step down.

In a recent poll commissioned by the Insurance Fairness Project, a national insurance information hub, 62% of likely voters said they are very concerned about the cost of home insurance and 43% said they are not confident at all that California’s insurance system can withstand future extreme weather disasters.

Former insurance commissioner John Garamendi, who held the position two separate times and is now a U.S. congressmember, calls the commissioner job the second-hardest in the state behind the governor. Another former commissioner, Dave Jones, said the next commissioner needs to keep a closer eye on insurance companies and regularly examine their conduct, creating “clear enforcement triggers.” He worked on a blueprint with recommendations galore for Lara’s successor.

About a dozen candidates are officially vying for the position, though not all of them have active campaigns. The two who receive the most votes in June’s primary will move on to the November ballot.

CalMatters interviewed the five candidates who have raised the most money for their campaigns.

All of them are calling for more transparency and accountability from insurance companies within the law that governs insurance in the state, Proposition 103. They want to help reduce fire risk at the individual and community level. Most of them agree California should try to hold the fossil-fuel industry accountable for climate risks that are helping drive up insurance costs.

They want to reduce Californians’ dependence on the FAIR Plan, the insurer that’s mandated to sell fire insurance to those who can’t buy it from individual insurance companies. At the end of 2025, the plan had nearly 650,000 noncommercial dwelling policies, up from about 264,000 in 2022.

Here is how each candidate, in alphabetical order, plans to tackle the challenges.

Ben Allen

State Sen. Ben Allen.

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Photo via the California State Senate

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Last year’s massive fires in the L.A. area hit the senator’s district. Along with other insurance-related bills, Allen has introduced legislation that would give the commissioner more power to hold insurance companies accountable. After hearing from his constituents about the department’s handling of their problems after the fires, he wants to boost the number of staff handling consumer complaints and create a consumer advocate position in the insurance department, he told CalMatters.

Allen, a Democrat, would take a more comprehensive approach to risk reduction, including by creating funding sources such as state-backed loans for hardening homes, and by bringing together insurers, builders, local governments, firefighters and the state to work on solutions. As part of reducing risk, he wants to restrict new construction in high-risk zones, saying developers who are building in such areas are “basically freeloading off the rest of us.” He also wants to “carefully and sensitively” find a way to incentivize those already living in risky areas to move elsewhere.

The senator — a lawyer who will be termed out of the Legislature, where he has worked on environmental issues — said his eyes are wide open about how tough the job would be, but believes he has and can create the relationships needed, including with an incoming governor, to address the issues. On the role of intervenors, members of the public who can challenge insurers’ rate reviews, he indicated he needed to look into it further and that they shouldn’t be slowing down rate reviews — adopting a refrain by the current commissioner, who is seeking to reduce intervenors’ power.

He has received the most endorsements from the who’s-who of state politics, including Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, both U.S. senators from California, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, and more than two dozen state lawmakers. Jones, the former commissioner, also endorsed him.

Steven Bradford

Steven Bradford.

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Photo via the California State Senate Archive

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The former Southern California senator and assemblymember would establish a public-private partnership that would share risk with insurers to keep them in the state. What that would look like needs more exploration, Bradford told CalMatters.

The Democrat, a former executive at the utility company Southern California Edison, would invite insurance companies “to the table” when discussing land use and planning, and support a voluntary buyout program to encourage people to move away from high-risk areas.

He said funding could come from expanding an existing program in the insurance department called the California Organized Investment Network, which is backed by the insurance industry and invests in underserved communities, environmentally friendly and affordable housing projects, and more. Insurers’ investments in the program have grown from tens of millions of dollars to more than $1 billion in 2023, according to the commissioner’s annual report in 2024.

Bradford would push insurers for clear explanations when they raise rates, saying it won’t be easy but that because the state’s insurance market is so big, it “would behoove them to do what they can to be partners with California.”

He is endorsed by U.S. Reps. Adam Gray and Luz Rivas, state Treasurer Fiona Ma and Secretary of State Shirley Weber, plus Teamsters California, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California and other labor groups.

Merritt Farren

Merritt Farren.

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Photo courtesy of Merritt Farren’s campaign

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The Pacific Palisades home of the former Amazon and Disney executive was destroyed in last year’s fires. He became an intervenor and pushed for more information on State Farm’s request to raise its rates as a result of the fires, which led to his campaign for commissioner.

Farren, a Republican, would create CAL Reinsure so the state could provide a backstop for insurers. The entity would be funded by a fee charged by insurers and would eliminate the need for the FAIR Plan because companies would be more inclined to write policies, he told CalMatters. The authority could issue bonds that could be sold in the commercial market, and would be backed by the state, like municipal bonds.

He would want to “revamp” regulations that get in the way of allowing new insurance products in the market, saying that he wishes insurers had a premium product that charged customers more but would “pay out immediately on loss without putting them through the drama and trauma they have to go through today.”

Farren said he sees the commissioner’s job as one of consumer advocacy, and invoked his days at Amazon, where he says the motto was to be the most customer-centric company in the world. “You can be a consumer advocate and still appreciate the fact that there will be no insurance for consumers without insurance companies,” he said.

Jane Kim

Jane Kim.

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Photo via Jane Kim’s campaign

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The lawyer, consumer advocate and former San Francisco supervisor told CalMatters that the commissioner’s office has been “under-leveraged” and has the levers to protect people from the powerful insurance industry.

Kim, a Democrat and head of the California Working Families Party, has three main proposals around more government involvement, the main one to create “natural disaster insurance for all.” It would be funded by a portion of policyholder premiums that insurance companies would pass along to the state. The state would manage the fund, which would guarantee fire and flood coverage. Insurance companies would continue to provide coverage for other risks. It’s not her idea — New Zealand has the same system, and it allows the country to invest the premiums in preventive measures, she said. Establishing such a system in California could allow the state to invest profit from premiums that would have gone to insurers’ shareholders in its communities instead, she said.

She would establish a public option for auto insurance by expanding eligibility for an existing program that provides low-cost insurance to drivers who make less than $38,000 a year.

Kim also wants to provide Medicare for kids. She believes California should centralize all insurance authority within the insurance department instead of having managed health care handled by the Managed Health Care Department.

She acknowledges that her biggest ideas are for the long term and will require her to win over naysayers.

“I’ve heard it — ‘She doesn’t know anything,’ ” Kim said. “We’re all so tired of seeing candidates that don’t have political courage.”

Kim is endorsed by some big names, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont — she was California political director for his presidential campaign in 2020 — Ro Khanna, the Silicon Valley congressmember, and unions such as SEIU California, the California Teachers Association and the UFCW Western States Council.

Patrick Wolff

Patrick Wolff.

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Photo via the Patrick Wolff campaign website

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The financial analyst, a Democrat who lives in San Francisco and has never held public office, obtained an insurance license ahead of his run for commissioner. Wolff told CalMatters that he has invested his own money in his campaign — $600,000, according to campaign finance records — and simply wants to help fix the problems he sees in the insurance market. “It would be the honor of my lifetime if I can do this job and really do this job well,” he said.

Wolff would create a report card that would grade how insurers handle claims based on existing market conduct annual surveys of insurance companies, which is now anonymized but which he would push to be identifiable. He said that would let the insurance department help customers decide which insurers to reward or punish for their behavior.

He would consider allowing auto insurers to use telematics, which companies use in other states to track driver behavior for underwriting purposes. He said it could help for more accurate underwriting and possibly even lower auto insurance premiums, but acknowledged privacy concerns around the technology and said insurance companies should be prohibited from sharing or selling driver information.

Wolff would roll out a dashboard that would disclose complaints about providers of life insurance. The insurance department is not making that data public, and he doesn’t see why not, he said.

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

When the Station Fire roared through the Angeles National Forest in 2009, Colleen and Jason Warnesky could see it from the front porch of their Altadena, Calif., home. Eleven years later, the family witnessed the Bobcat Fire from the same spot as it became one of the largest fires in Los Angeles County history.

Their house remained standing after both close calls. So when the Eaton Fire struck more than 3 miles away in January 2025, they were certain they'd again remain unscathed.

"We couldn't imagine how it would get from all the way over there to our house," Colleen Warnesky told NPR, as she pointed to the lush mountains on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Fifteen months later, the couple is pacing around the fenced-in dirt lot that was once the site of their 1,400 sq. foot home. So far the land has been cleared of all toxins, and they're waiting on the city to approve drainage permits before construction workers can start pouring the foundation

The Warneskys are among the dozens of families in the immediate neighborhood who have opted to rebuild with manufactured homes. They were swayed by a local program launched by city-LAB UCLA, a center founded by the University of California, Los Angeles' Architecture and Urban Design Department, which included a showcase of six prefab housing options and a guide to help navigate the process and secure financing.

The spate of wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes and floods fueled by man-made climate change that have plagued vast swaths of the country in recent years is changing the housing industry. That's because people like the Warneskys, who are seeking to rebuild in disaster-prone regions, are searching for greater peace of mind. As a result, they're turning away from stick-builds and embracing prefabricated homes that are made using materials that are fire-resistant and can withstand extreme weather, and that are now considered standard, and are often more affordable.

Manufacturers are meeting that demand with innovative and safer alternatives. Many companies are designing prefab houses that can withstand category 5 hurricane winds — up to 250 mph — earthquakes, hail storms, massive snowfall and fire. Depending on customizable preferences, prices can vary from below $100 per square foot to over $500 per square foot, excluding land. But even those prices often fall under traditional on-site building costs in many parts of the country.

"We're working with Honomobo, which is one modular company out of Canada. And then the people across the way are working with another company called Bevy House. And then there's a whole set of three families on Harriet that are working with a third modular company," Warnesky said, pointing out various vacant or half-built lots in the neighborhood.

"It was a combination of factors," Warnesky said, explaining why they have opted to forgo a traditional build. After losing everything, and the stress of dealing with the seemingly endless insurance paperwork, they had decision fatigue. The idea of picking something out of a catalog that would arrive fully built seemed like a lifesaver.

"But a big part of it was also safety," Warnesky clarified. She added, "I think that we both felt early on, if there was a way to make it so that we had less to worry about if another fire happened in the future," we'd go with that.

For their own house, which will largely consist of glass, steel and concrete, the Warneskys said they bought a package that is specifically designed for a wildland urban interface environment, known as WUI. These are areas where real estate developments and infrastructure butt up against wildland vegetation.

Jason Warnesky described some of the features of the old, post-WWII-built home. It was modest but comfortable. It had a redwood deck that spanned a big section of the backyard, he said.

"I would suspect that was probably one of the first things that went up on our house," he said.

"We won't do that again," his wife added.

The building prefab business

The Manufactured Housing Institute reports that as of 2024, nearly 21 million people in the U.S. live in manufactured or mobile homes. And manufactured homes made up more than 9% of new home starts in the same year. Meanwhile, consumer prices have remained largely unchanged over the past three years, making them increasingly attractive to first-time buyers.

The same study noted that three U.S.-based companies account for about 83% of the nation's market share. Most of those sales are happening in states with nearly annual flooding, hurricane or wildfire disasters — Texas, Florida and California.

Given the escalating climate risks across the country, Harrison Langley, CEO of MDLR Brands, believes that traditional on-site building is unsustainable. His company has built single-family prefabricated homes, apartment buildings and commercial structures in the Bahamas following 2019's Hurricane Dorian and in California, Tennessee and North Carolina.

"The building materials space is run by dinosaurs," he told NPR. "The way we've been building for the last 100 years really hasn't changed. But the materials have gotten less strong. A two-by-four is no longer two-by-four. It's smaller."

The company offers manufactured kit homes as well as custom-designed projects that are built using composite structural insulated panels. Each one has a 30-minute fire rating, meaning "you could hide behind this wall without the heat coming through for 30 minutes," he explained, adding that the panels can be hardened even further by using a cement board on top of the panels. "That could give you about an hour to get out of a building," Langley added.

Another bonus is that the panels are also more elastic than a wooden frame, making the houses better capable of withstanding earthquakes. And, he said, because the panels have an exterior fiberglass layer, they can stand up to category 5 hurricane winds. (Third-party certifiers test it by shooting a two-by-four traveling at 170 mph, Langley explained.)

According to Langley, America has been on the cusp of embracing modular and prefabricated homes for some time. But, he believes, the growing ubiquity of accessory dwelling units is serving as "proof of concept" for potential clients. "People are used to seeing them now," he said.

Beyond a boxy modular style

For some people, the reluctance to embrace a modular or manufactured build has less to do with costs and more to do with style. Or a perceived absence of it.

Across the street from Colleen and Jason Warnesky are Linda and Liam Mennis. They also lost their 1940s 1,600 sq. ft. home in the Eaton Fire. Initially, they were thinking of going with a traditional stick-build home, but after a discussion with their architect, they learned they could design a customized manufactured home.

"We couldn't do a cookie-cutter house," Mennis told NPR. "We didn't want to pick something from a catalog that would look exactly like somebody else's house."

A home designed by California-based Bevy House. This, nearly 8,000 square foot Malibu project is a partial rebuild, as a large portion of the home was lost in the 2018 Woolsey Fire. It was one of the first homes to receive occupancy post fire.

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Bevy House

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They're now working with Bevy House, whose tag line is, "The conventional home building process is broken. We're the solution." Instead of boxy structures, they take personalized architectural plans and figure out how to make them modular so they can be fabricated at their facilities and put together on site. A majority of the company's builds are installed in California, and they've worked with several fire victims.

Following the destructive 2018 Woolsey Fire in Ventura and Los Angeles counties, they built one of the first homes to receive occupancy post-fire, according to their website. It's a Spanish revival, five-bedroom, seven-bathroom, nearly 8,000-square-foot spread that features custom reclaimed beams. The project was a partial rebuild, as a large portion of the original home was lost in the fire. 

For Mennis and his wife, it was a streamlined process. After finalizing a design plan, he said, Bevy House "makes sure they can break it up into modules" in a 3-D rendering system, and they get started on production.

Prefab's past

The idea of creating aesthetically pleasing and affordable modular homes on a mass scale is not a new one. Seventy-seven years ago, famed architects and furniture designers Ray and Charles Eames, came up with a modernist blueprint for a system composed of inexpensive and off-the-shelf materials from industrial and commercial catalogs that could be easily assembled. Their own iconic home and studio space, Case Study No. 8 house, served as a model of what could be done.

Eames Office has partnered with Spanish office furniture brand, Kettal, to produce a universal modular system that will eventually include the option to build a customized home. The Eames Pavilion was unveiled last week at the Triennale di Milano.

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Salva Lopez

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Courtesy of Kettal

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Eames Demetrios, director of the Eames Office and chairman of the Eames Foundation, has revived his grandparents' dream. Together with Spanish office furniture brand Kettal, Eames Office rolled out the Eames Pavilion system last week at the Triennale di Milano exhibition in Italy. It is a modular, pre-fabricated kit that uses aluminum frames with interchangeable glass, wood, and composite panels. The initial product is only for a single room that can serve as an office or studio space. But by 2027, Demetrios said, it will expand to allow for customizable configurations of single or multi-level dwellings.

"What is wonderful about it is it isn't a copy of the Eames House," Demetrios told NPR. "It's not a facsimile. But it certainly has the spirit of it. And when you look closely, you realize that it's something that is different, which is really trying to create a system out of it."

The kits will be on the pricier side of prefabricated homes, but Demetrios said they intend to keep costs below $500 per square foot. Clients will also have options to swap out materials that may suit the building site better, he added. Because it is a modular system, Demetrios explained, "as innovations happen it is possible to include those in a more dynamic way."

He added: "I'm predicting in about five years we'll have houses that people will almost not be able to tell are from the same system. And I think that that's part of the power of it. And that's part of the opportunity of it."
Copyright 2026 NPR

The alleged gunman at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, where President Donald Trump and other top administration officials were gathered, is set to make his first appearance in court today.

Cole Allen, 31, is slated to be arraigned in federal court. Police have not formally identified Allen as the suspect, but NPR confirmed his identity with two people familiar with the investigation who aren't authorized to speak publicly.

Allen faces charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Authorities said Allen charged through a security perimeter at the Washington Hilton, where the annual event was taking place, before being stopped and arrested by law enforcement. One Secret Service agent was shot in his protective vest and not seriously injured.

Video from the event shows Secret Service agents surrounding Trump and Vice President Vance and ushering them out of the room after shots rang out. Journalists and other attendees can be seen crouched under tables as federal officers swarmed the ballroom.

At a White House press conference shortly after the shooting, Trump said he recognized the dangers of his position as president.

"I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I'm — I think I handle it as well as it can be handled," Trump said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press Sunday morning that the suspect is believed to have been targeting administration officials.

What happened?

Just after the dinner began around 8 p.m. ET, the suspect allegedly attempted to breach a security barrier inside the Washington Hilton near the ballroom where the correspondents' dinner was being held.

Trump on Saturday night posted a video on social media appearing to show a man sprinting through a security checkpoint, with agents then turning and pointing their weapons in his direction. Those inside the nearby ballroom could hear muffled pops.

"Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees," Secret Service Director Sean Curran said Saturday evening. "And that individual, when he charged a checkpoint, was apprehended. It shows that our multi-layered protection works."

The suspect was believed to have acted alone, and two firearms and multiple knives were recovered, the Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement on social media.

Trump said after the shooting that he wanted the dinner to continue, but later said he decided to leave at the request of law enforcement, adding that the organizers told him the event would be rescheduled.

Weijia Jiang, a CBS News journalist who is president of the White House Correspondents' Association, called Sunday's shooting a "harrowing moment" and said the WHCA board would meet to "assess what happened and determine how to proceed."

Who is Cole Allen?

Before the shooting, Allen allegedly sent his family members what the White House is calling a manifesto, stating he wanted to target members of the Trump administration, a White House official told NPR.

That official also said Allen's sister had spoken with law enforcement, telling them her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and had alluded to a plan to do "something" to fix the world's problems.

According to his sister, Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun that he stored at his parents' home without their knowledge.

Additional details about the suspect began to emerge in the hours after the attack.

A LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Allen describes him as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth." According to the LinkedIn page, Allen worked as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring service that offers testing prep for high school students. He received a "teacher of the month" award from the company in December 2024.

One of his students, Jason, a 17-year-old who NPR is identifying only by his first name because he is a minor, said "you wouldn't expect [Allen] to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president." Jason added: "He was just quirky because he was a just really smart guy."

Movses Janbazian, pastor at Pasadena United Reformed Church, told NPR he knew Allen years ago as a "good guy" and "quiet." Allen attended weekly church services while he was a student at California Institute of Technology, according to Janbazian.

"He was faithful in his attendance, and he was always friendly and courteous to everyone," Janbazian said. "He was in a very competitive school, and so we didn't get to see him much because he was always working, doing homework."

"Every interaction we had with him was great," Janbazian continued.

Janbazian also said the news is still "very surprising" and he doesn't "know what to think." Allen was not involved in the church outside of worship, he added.

"No secret handshakes or anything," Janbazian said. "Just — he would come. He would hear the gospel. He would worship. He would go home."

Federal Election Commission records show that Allen donated $25 to the fundraising platform ActBlue in October 2024, earmarked for Kamala Harris' presidential campaign.

NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben, Ryan Lucas, Lydia Calitri, Steve Futterman, Deepa Shivaram and Ava Berger contributed reporting.
Copyright 2026 NPR

I’ve loved reading your reactions to the new LACMA David Geffen Galleries. Here are just a few of the many responses we received; most were positive, but there were some smart criticisms as well:

“The architecture by Peter Zumthor and the uniquely designed way of displaying the collection across time and place was brilliant! The joy is in finding the connections.” —Marlan

“Time and place braid together in a continuum unleashed from the strictly defined spaces typical of an encyclopedic museum. Truly radical in the best way possible.” —Bianca

“The art seemed to be presented in an almost random order, as if they took LACMA's collection like a deck of cards, shuffled them twice, and then just hung everything in the resulting order.” —Steve

Licorice Pizza has your music picks for the week, including post-hardcore band La Dispute at the Belasco, indie-folk star Cut Worms at Pacific Electric and rock en español sensation Julieta Venegas at the Grammy Museum — all on Tuesday. Wednesday, Charlie Puth is at the Forum, dream-pop trio Sunday (1994) is at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, singer-songwriter and breakout The Voice contestant Carol Ades plays the Troubadour and Latin rock band Zoé plays the first of two nights at the YouTube Theater. Thursday, Chet Faker plays the Novo, Maro is at the Fonda, King Tuff plays Sid The Cat Auditorium and a cappella legends Take 6 begin their four-night residency at the Blue Note.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can get a first look at the new Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, find out more about this King Taco’s historic designation, and grab your tickets for Wild Card with NPR’s Rachel Martin live at the Crawford on May 2.

Events

Enormous Things

Tuesday and Wednesday, April 28 and 29
Elysian Theater
1944 Riverside Drive, Elysian Valley
COST: $25; MORE INFO

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Courtesy The Elysian

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A more up-my-alley musical has never before landed in my Instagram feed. Do you, like me, enjoy modern art and showtunes more than almost anything else? Enormous Things — a musical about Claes Oldenburg where Jeff Koons is the villain — might also be for you.

Just Sing 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m. 
Laemmle NoHo 7
5240 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood
COST: $14.50; MORE INFO

Fans of Pitch Perfect will want to check out this local real-life story. Just Sing follows the USC a cappella group SoCal VoCals as they make their way to the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella in New York City. Co-directors and cinematographers Angelique Molina and Abraham Troen will host a Q&A following the screening.

Japanese Heritage Night at Dodger Stadium

Monday, April 27, 7:10 p.m.
Dodger Stadium 
1000 Vin Scully Ave., Elysian Park 
COST: FROM $70; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Los Angeles Dodgers

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Japanese superstar Yoshiki will perform at the Dodgers vs. Marlins game ahead of his headliner performance at Disney Hall in July, marking Japanese Heritage Night at the stadium. Get there early to hear the music, enjoy Japanese food specials and grab your special game jersey.

Old Woman Naked

Wednesday and Thursday, April 29 and 30, 7:30 p.m. 
The Broadwater Second Stage
6320 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood 
COST: $45; MORE INFO 

Acclaimed author Pamela Redmond is no stranger to using her own life for inspiration for her beloved fiction, like Younger (which later became the hit Freeform show) and Older. But baring all — emotionally and physically — onstage? That’s new territory for the 72-year-old. First performed in New York to a sold-out one-night-only crowd, Old Woman Naked digs into the truth about aging, sexuality, feminism, motherhood and coming into your own. An additional date of May 17 has just been added.

Comedy, at Night 

Tuesday, April 28, 8:30 p.m. 
UCB Franklin 
5919 Franklin Ave., Hollywood
COST: $20; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy UCB Comedy

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Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Silverman and many more bold-faced comedy names join this showcase at UCB Franklin, hosted by Nate Odenkirk and Ari Mostow.

Double Chin pop-up 

Monday, April 27, 9 a.m. until sold out 
Petitgrain Boulangerie 
1209 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica 
COST: VARIES; MORE INFO

Double chin? More like double yum. Get in line early for this pop-up at Petitgrain, featuring Leah Chin-Katz’s popular pastries and jams.

Glowworm Full Moon Night Hike 

Thursday, April 30, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.  
Gabrielino Trail, Western Trailhead
915 Ventura Street, Altadena
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

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Jason Journeyman

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Eventbrite

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Rattlesnakes sleep at night (right?), so head out for a late-night hike to see the rare California pink glowworms that come out this time of year in the Altadena foothills. Intrepid hiker Jason Wise (Journeyman) leads this nature-filled evening with L.A. Rises.

Screening: Dead City Punx 

Thursday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.
Brain Dead Studios
611 N. Fairfax Ave., Melrose 
COST: $18; MORE INFO 

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Courtesy Gold Atlas

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Dead City Punx exhibit 

Through Saturday, May 30
Beyond the Streets 
434 N. La Brea Ave., Mid-City
COST: FREE, MORE INFO 

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yubo dong

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studio photography

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Punk in Los Angeles is far from dead. Dead City Punx, whose shows have shut down streets and seen fans start fires, are the focus of a new documentary and gallery show at Beyond the Streets. Dead City Punx (trailer here) tells the story of the band that built a following through “chaotic, illegal outdoor shows during the pandemic — complete with bonfires, fireworks, graffiti and clashes with law enforcement — ultimately sparking a movement that challenged what DIY and punk culture mean today.” Produced by Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha, the film and gallery show are out now.