The Brief

Like most cities, Los Angeles isn’t without its New Year’s Eve festivities — parties, hangouts, and, of course, fireworks. However, for those in recovery or just looking for a bit of a respite from the usual affair, it can be quite difficult to find a space that feels inviting and a little less rowdy.

That’s how events like VIBEZ: A Sober New Year Celebration look to differentiate themselves. Now in its 11th iteration, VIBEZ is West Hollywood’s annual sober New Year’s event co-sponsored by the city.

“Cities are themselves places where people find refuge,” said West Hollywood Mayor John Erickson. So, he added, it made sense for West Hollywood to help define a space needed for its community.

VIBEZ theme last year was "Alien Superstar"

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Jon Viscott

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“I think having [this] kind of space for people and letting people know that [it] exists is incredibly important,” said Andy Short, senior regional manager for The Phoenix, a nonprofit that hosts sober programming throughout the country and are co-sponsors of the event.

Short said he understands first-hand the value of these dedicated events.

“My first sober New Years, I told everyone of my friends that I was good to go. I’ll be the designated driver,” he recalled. That year, he remembered feeling completely shattered and alone.

“I wanted to crawl out of my skin,” he said, “I wanted to be anywhere else in the world, but I had to put on a face, you know, and pretend like it’s the same.”

VIBEZ will be celebrating it's 11th iteration this New Year's Eve

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Jon Viscott

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For Short and countless others in recovery or seeking a drug-free environment to ring in the new year, having a space like VIBEZ can be a lifesaver.

“One of the most important pieces of my own recovery,” Short added, “was hanging out with people who could have fun without using.” That spark of realization was a profound moment for him.

“ It's just nice to be in a place with people having a good time where you're clear,” he said. “Where you don't have to worry about the behavior of people when maybe they've had too many drinks or they're not quite in their right mind for whatever reason.”

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Like any New Year’s event worthy of attendance, VIBEZ prides itself on a good theme. Last year saw guests hitting the dance floor in their best “Alien Superstar” attire as local drag celebrity — and Drag Race alum — Salina EsTitties brought the entertainment.

A group of party goers hit the dance floor at last year's VIBEZ event

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Jon Viscott

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This year’s theme? Hot Western Rodeo.

“[It’s] a little Cowboy Carter, a little Chappell Roan,” Short said. “We try to put our own spin on it and make sure that, you know, folks have a place that's safe, but also a really good time.”

Short noted that those coming out should expect appropriately themed decor and costume pieces to try on, a mechanical bull for those brave enough, and, of course, the return of Salina EsTitties.

Drag Race alum Salina EsTitties will return to the VIBEZ stage this year

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Jon Viscott

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“She’s got a whole itinerary planned for us,” he exclaimed. “She’s reading people’s resolutions and apparently reading them.”

A history lesson: From #BOOM! to VIBEZ

Since 2014, the city of West Hollywood has funded and co-sponsored what has become known today as VIBEZ. Short said it all started out of activism through the local group The Tweakers Project — a nonprofit helping folks struggling with meth addiction.

“They were the ones that brought it to the city over ten years ago,” Short said. It was through their work, he said, that made the city aware that “West Hollywood being such a kind of epicenter for nightlife [it] also needed to support recovery in this way.”

A group of party goers celebrate at last year's VIBEZ event

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Jon Viscott

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“We have a long-standing history with our recovery community,” said Erickson, adding, “When something is so community focused and community driven, people come. People bring their friends. People want to come.”

Since The Phoenix took over co-sponsoring the event, formerly known as #Boom!, in 2022, organizers have seen a steady increase in turnout. Last year, the event saw nearly 600 people on the dance floor throughout the evening. This year, the team projects attendance to hit well over that.

“ I think the activism and the work that Tweakers Project and the other organizations did prior to us made it a name and made people know about it,” Short said, adding, “[And] I think the city has done an incredible job getting the word out that this is something they support, that it's a priority.”

On Monday, Los Angeles travels back in time. Well, sort of.

The Varnish, the famed speakeasy hidden behind a secret door at the back of Cole’s French Dip, will be reconstituted for one night only as part of a special pop-up at Firstborn in Chinatown.

(Meanwhile, Cole's itself will be open through the holiday season, with its last night of regular service planned for Dec. 31.)

The iconic bar, which shuttered in 2024 after a 15-year run, holds a special place in the hearts of many Angelenos, who believe it's where L.A.’s modern cocktail revival truly began. The event reunites three bartenders who all came up through The Varnish’s famously exacting school of cocktail-making. Kenzo Han (recently named Esquire’s Bartender of the Year) cut his teeth there before moving into roles that established him as one of L.A.’s most respected classic-cocktail technicians. Wolf Alexander and Miles Caballes emerged from the same pipeline.

One night only

Kenzo Han, bar director at Firstborn and former Varnish bartender, is hosting two fellow Varnish alumni for the Monday pop-up.

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Ron De Angelis

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Han is now Firstborn’s bar director, where he leads a tight, classics-leaning bar program. The restaurant sits inside Mandarin Plaza, where chef Anthony Wang turns out playful comfort dishes with Chinese and American influences. It’s a lively, unfussy neighborhood hangout just off Broadway, surrounded by neon, noodle shops and family-style restaurants.

The Varnish connection

All three bartenders trace their lineage back to Sasha Petraske, who, in 2009, co-founded The Varnish with Eric Alperin and Cedd Moses, the owner of Cole’s French Dip.

Petraske traded '90s flash for pre-Prohibition craft: fresh citrus over sour mix, precise technique over bottle tricks, elevating cocktails from party fuel to art form.

Miles Caballes brings his Varnish training back to the bar for one night.

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Courtesy Firstborn

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Wolf Alexander, another Varnish alum, demonstrates the precise technique that defined the speakeasy's approach.

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Courtesy Firstborn

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The Varnish became the city’s clearest expression of Petraske’s cocktail philosophy, where his playbook of precision, restraint and quiet hospitality took root on the West Coast. (Petraske passed in 2015.)

Han, Alexander and Caballes all trained in that environment, absorbing the Petraske rules of clean builds, tight technique and no-nonsense cocktails.

What to expect

For one night only, from 6-10 p.m., the trio will channel that tradition through a Varnish-style menu: curated classics only, no custom builds, with all cocktails priced at $20. Two featured drinks nod directly to the bar's lineage. The Spring Blossom — created at The Varnish — combines mezcal, French aperitifs, including Suze and Lillet Blanc, mole bitters and a grapefruit twist. Death & Taxes features scotch, gin, sweet vermouth, Benedictine (a herbal liqueur), Angostura and orange bitters, finished with a lemon twist.

On the food side, chef Anthony Wang is reviving his cult-favorite Blood Orange Chicken Sando ($20), served with radicchio, alongside a limited run of his Shanghainese-style McRib ($24) — a playful, sweet-and-sour riff built around tender ribs and “all the stuff” that made the original such a guilty pleasure.

The blood orange chicken sandwich at Firstborn from chef Anthony Wang.

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Ron De Angelis

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Expect a casual, walk-in-only atmosphere where guests can grab a seat at the bar and let the cocktail nostalgia wash over them.

Whether you were a Varnish regular or only heard the stories, this pop-up is a rare chance to see that style alive again — familiar faces, bespoke cocktails and the kind of muscle-memory bartending that defined an era of L.A. drinking culture. For newer drinkers, it’s a glimpse of the cocktail philosophy that shaped the city as we know it.

It’ll likely get busy early, and the food specials may run out fast — but that’s part of the charm. The Varnish’s legacy has always been about small rooms, sharp precision and moments you catch only if you’re paying attention.

In the city of Los Angeles, neighbors or homeowner groups who choose to fight approvals of new housing are required to pay a fee when filing an appeal.

Right now, that fee is $178 — about 1% of the amount the city says it costs to process the appeal. But that fee soon will go up.

On Wednesday, the L.A. City Council voted to increase the fee to $229 but rejected a proposal by the city administrative officer that would have raised the cost for appellants to more than $22,800, or 100% of the cost.

Some advocates for making housing easier to build argued the city should have adopted the higher fee.

“Appeals of approved projects create delays that make it harder to build housing and disincentivize future housing from being proposed,” said Jacob Pierce, a policy associate with the group Abundant Housing L.A.

At a time when L.A.’s budget is strained, Pierce said, if someone thinks a project was wrongly approved, “They should put their money where their mouth is and pay the full fee."

The City Council unanimously approved another new fee structure put forward by the city’s Planning Department.

While fees will remain relatively low for housing project opponents, developers will have to pay $22,453 to appeal projects that previously had been denied.

A November report from the city administrative officer said setting fees higher to recover the full cost of processing would have aligned with the city’s financial policies. Generally, fees are set higher when applicants are asking for a service that benefits them alone.

“When a service or activity benefits the public at large, there is generally little to no recommended fee amount,” the report said.

Pierce said he hoped a City Council committee would reconsider the higher fee proposal next year. With the city falling far short of its goal to create nearly a half-million new homes by 2029, he said the city needs to discourage obstruction of new housing.

“Slowing down the construction of housing is expensive for all of us,” Pierce said.

Los Angeles could become the first city in the U.S. to ban ink cartridges that can be used only once.

The L.A. City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to approve the creation of an ordinance that prohibits their sale. The move comes after more than a year of debate over the terms.

Why the potential ban

This builds upon the city’s effort to reach zero waste, including phasing out single-use plastics. You’re likely familiar with some of those efforts — such as only getting plastic foodware by request and banning single-use carryout bags at stores. Multiple plastic bans have been suggested, like for single-use vapes and bag clips, but now it’s ink’s turn.

The cartridges are tough to dispose of because of the plastic, metal and chemicals inside, according to the city. They’re also classified as regulated waste in the state because they can leach toxic substances into the environment, such as volatile organic compounds and heavy metals.

That poses a problem. L.A.’s curbside recycling program can’t recycle the cartridges, and while its hazardous waste program can take them, a significant portion end up in landfills.

Major printer manufacturers and some ink retailers have take-back programs for used cartridges so they can get refilled. However, L.A. Sanitation says there are certain single-use cartridges that don’t have recovery programs. These are usually cartridges that work with a printer but aren’t name brand.

How outlawing them could work

LASAN has spent months figuring out what a ban would cover — and it hasn’t been without pushback. The city’s energy and environment committee pressed the department back in September on how effective a ban would be.

Ultimately, the committee moved it forward with a promise that LASAN would come back with more details, including environmental groups’ stance, concrete data to back up the need and a public education plan.

The department’s current recommendation is that the ordinance should prohibit retail and online establishments from selling any single-use ink cartridge, whether sold separately or with a printer, to people in the city. Retailers that don’t follow the rules would get fined.

So what does single-use mean here? The ban would affect a printer cartridge that:

• is not collected or recovered through a take-back program
• cannot be remanufactured, refilled or reused
• infringes upon intellectual property rights or violates any applicable local, state or federal law

Any cartridges that meet one of these points would fall under the ban, though you still could get them outside L.A.

The proposed ordinance will go to the committee first while LASAN works on a public education plan.

If it ends up getting approved by the full council, the ban likely would go into full effect 12 months later.