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LAist senior editor, Suzanne Levy, who grew up in the UK, tells the story of the first time she went to Joshua Tree and experienced the desert's strange, out of the world landscape.
On seeing a Joshua Tree: "What? Wait, stop the car. There’s an actual Joshua Tree? It looks like an alien to me!"
On seeing a desert sunset: "I marveled at the gorgeousness of the sunset, the morphing colors and the vastness of the sky."
While living in L.A., I’d been hearing about this thing — “the desert.” Seemed a bit odd to someone who lived on the Westside next to the ocean, but OK, you can also see mountains from my house, so why not throw in an entire landscape food group?
A few years ago, I figured it was time to try it out, and my family and I headed to Joshua Tree for the weekend.
We began driving east and were soon in that vast no man’s land around the 10 Freeway. On one side, I could see a moving train, with all those boxcars. I was watching, entranced, waiting to see it go past. And it kept going. And going. It was like a vibrant desert serpent, wending its way through the landscape, each boxcar a different hue. It seemed so romantic, and then I thought “in each one, there’s a whole load of hanging car air fresheners, dental floss and Japanese waving cats” and suddenly the spell was broken. Ah well.
As we got nearer, I said “Huh, what's that weird thing that looks like an alien?” and my husband said, “Yes, that’s a Joshua Tree.”
What? Wait, stop the car. There’s an actual Joshua Tree? First, who knew, and second, that is no tree. That, sir, is a weird misshapen cactus, with multiple crooked arms reaching into the air, each with its own spiky fur muff. Kinda like one of those waving inflatable guys if they were static. (Ah, I've been in L.A. too long).
We finally arrived at our destination, a campsite — OK, a glamping campsite, a whole bunch of airstream trailers laid out with firepits. I knew it was bougie when I went to buy a smores kit from the shop and came back with 70% dark chocolate, artisanal graham crackers and single origin marshmallows. (I made that marshmallow one up, but it really is just a matter of time).
We made a fire, marveling at the gorgeousness of the sunset, the morphing colors and the vastness of the sky. I sat afterwards watching the flames, the cold air on my skin, under a blanket of stars. Tears pricked my eyes.
LAist Senior Editor Suzanne Levy writes about her experiences as a Brit in the U.S. in her ongoing series: American As A Second language.
In the morning we headed to Joshua Tree National Park. When we got out of the car, the vista hit me, with that bright, bright sun, strange looking rocky outcrops, and nothing but Joshua trees as far as the eye could see. I thought: I have never seen anything like this. I couldn’t have even imagined something like this. In London, if you go on a day trip, you can go back in time, say to the thatched roofs of the Cotswolds — but not to a different planet.
What an extraordinary continent this is, I think. I am awestruck by its endless, varied landscapes — the plains, the Rockies, the oceans and the forests. And there’s something particular about the desert — its simplicity, its reduction to just three or four elements, which relaxes you, chills you out.
I remember heading back to L.A. after the weekend, happy and mellow, smiling as we drove west into the setting sun. It’s a cliche, but the desert does call you back. And I hope to get back there very soon.
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President Donald Trump was reported uninjured after a possible shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner tonight in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press says. Secret Service agents said a suspect is in custody.
What we know: What sounded like gunshots were heard by gathered reporters shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET in the Washington Hilton. Several guests were seen fleeing the ballroom where hundreds of journalists, politicians and attendees were gathered — including Trump, Vice President Vance and other members of the administration.
Trump's response: He is expected to appear at a press briefing shortly. He praised Secret Service after being rushed from the ballroom.
Updated April 25, 2026 at 21:29 PM ET
President Donald Trump was reported uninjured after a possible shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday in Washington, D.C., the Associated Press says. Secret Service agents said a suspect is in custody.
What sounded like gunshots were heard by gathered reporters shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET in the Washington Hilton. Several guests were seen fleeing the ballroom where hundreds of journalists, politicians and attendees were gathered — including Trump, Vice President Vance and other members of the administration.
Video from inside the room showed security quickly clear the guests on the main stage — including the president and first lady. Someone can be heard shouting "stay down."
President Trump took to social media shortly after being rushed out to praise the Secret Service.
"Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we 'LET THE SHOW GO ON' but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly. Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we'll just, plain, have to do it again," Trump wrote.
Law enforcement was seen evacuating prominent cabinet officials to rooms within the hotel, including Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Several members of Congress were seen leaving the event by foot, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla.
Weijia Jiang, the president of the correspondents' association, says the program will continue.
This is a developing story. Some things that get reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.
Copyright 2026 NPR
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“Roots of Our Labor,” a new mural unveiled this week by LA Commons across the street from MacArthur Park.
What they created: The mural shows a tree bearing avocados and oranges, with a trunk made of intertwined hands and a farmer harvesting the fruit. On one side, a tamale vendor is depicted selling food, and on the other, an ice cream vendor pushes a cart as children gather around him. In the background, scenes from MacArthur Park play out.
Before they ever picked up a paintbrush, youth artists behind a new mural in MacArthur Park started by listening.
“We interviewed people in MacArthur Park about their experiences living in the community,” said Tania Castro, a recent high school graduate and one of 20 young artists who worked on the project. “Some stories were a little bit sad because they said they lost their jobs and they need more opportunities.”
Those conversations shaped “Roots of Our Labor,” a new mural unveiled this week by LA Commons across the street from MacArthur Park. The project, led by artists Luis Mateo and Shakir Manners, draws from stories collected in a yearlong process from more than 75 residents in and around MacArthur Park.
Castro says those stories were about more than struggle.
“They also said they loved the community. In the park, you can see a lot of vendors selling things like fruit and ice cream,” she said. “And the kids love it.”
The mural shows a tree bearing avocados and oranges, with a trunk made of intertwined hands and a farmer harvesting the fruit. On one side, a tamale vendor is depicted selling food, and on the other, an ice cream vendor pushes a cart as children gather around him. In the background, scenes from MacArthur Park play out.
In a neighborhood where ongoing immigration raids have fueled fear and instability, and where MacArthur Park is often defined by visible homelessness and crime, organizers said the mural is intended to highlight the diverse communities who live there and to frame the park as a shared space of connection, culture and daily life.
“I enjoyed making it because it really teaches us about the importance of community and being more inclusive and kind to each other,” said high school artist Leslie Gonzalez. “Most of the people we talked to told us about their backgrounds and they weren’t that pleasant but they still pushed through and got together for each other.”
Painted in March at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN), the mural is installed on the southeastern side of the UCLA James Lawson Jr. Worker Justice Center.
“Immigrants are critical to the community, especially here in MacArthur Park,” said Beth Peterson, community arts program director at LA Commons. “And I think the mural does a beautiful job of really sharing that story. It really shows how the hands of immigrants have really hung together to form this very beautiful community that we live in today.”
For the lead artists, working alongside youth was central to how the art took shape.
“This artwork honors both the neighborhood and the people who shape it,” Mateo said. “Working with youth was essential to the process, allowing the mural to emerge from shared reflection rather than a single perspective.”
The new mural builds on LA Commons’ ongoing work in the area, following another mural unveiled last September at MacArthur Park Elementary School. “Roots of Our Labor” is the organization’s second mural supported by Stop the Hate, a statewide initiative led by the Asian American and Pacific Islander community aimed at addressing hate incidents and promoting cross-cultural understanding.
LA Commons, a nonprofit arts organization that creates community-based public art projects through partnerships and a mix of public and private funding, has been in the MacArthur Park area for more than 20 years. Its first public art project in the neighborhood was in 2003. “Roots of Our Labor” is its 22nd public art project in MacArthur Park.
Manners, the artist, described the mural as a reflection of what he sees as the underlying spirit of MacArthur Park.
It represents “the unseen hands that sustain communities, emphasizing that true progress is built collectively through persistence, sacrifice and shared purpose,” he said.
For Gonzalez, the mural is personal as well as something tied closely to her community.
“I feel like a light has shone on me and I’m proud of it because I’ve never done anything this big before,” she said.
The post New mural celebrates labor, multicultural community around MacArthur Park appeared first on LA Local.
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The phone lines at the East L.A. Sheriff’s Station are back up after more than two months of outages caused by copper wire theft.
How we got here: Boyle Heights Beat reported on the issue, and residents raised concerns at a Maravilla Community Advisory Committee (MCAC) meeting on April 7 about difficulty reaching the station by phone for non-emergencies.
About the theft: The outage was caused by an incident on Feb. 13, where several thousand dollars’ worth of copper wiring was stolen from an electrical vault near the station, according to Sgt. Michael Mileski. Fiber optic cables were damaged in the process, which affected a significant portion of the Eastern Avenue corridor in Boyle Heights and East L.A., disrupting phone lines for 100,000 residents for five days, Mileski said.
The phone lines at the East L.A. Sheriff’s Station are back up after more than two months of outages caused by copper wire theft.
The update comes just one week after Boyle Heights Beat reported on the issue, and residents raised concerns at a Maravilla Community Advisory Committee (MCAC) meeting on April 7 about difficulty reaching the station by phone for non-emergencies.
According to the East L.A. Sheriff’s Station, service was restored on Thursday, April 23. By Friday, all dispatchers were back working in the station after temporarily operating out of an off-site communications trailer connected via satellite.
“This was made possible due to the concerted efforts of the East Los Angeles Sheriff Station Captains Hinchman and Kusayanagi, AT&T, and our Communications & Fleet Management Bureau,” the station said in a statement to the Beat.
The station also thanked Assemblymember Jessica Caloza’s office and community stakeholders who contacted AT&T to express urgency.
Sheriff’s officials previously said they had called Caloza’s office to help speed up repairs by communicating with AT&T.
According to Sgt. Michael Mileski, the outage was caused by an incident on Feb. 13, where several thousand dollars’ worth of copper wiring was stolen from an electrical vault near the station. Fiber optic cables were damaged in the process, which affected a significant portion of the Eastern Avenue corridor in Boyle Heights and East L.A., disrupting phone lines for 100,000 residents for five days, Mileski said.
AT&T said in a statement that copper cable outages generally take five times longer to repair on average than fiber outages.
Copper wire theft has plagued the Eastside in recent years, leaving communities in the dark and disabling public facilities.
LA Documenter Alex Medina contributed reporting for this story. LA Documenters trains and pays LA residents to take notes at local government meetings around Los Angeles. You can find meeting notes and audio at losangeles.documenters.org
The story Phone lines restored at East LA Sheriff’s Station after 2-month outage due to copper wire theft appeared first on LA Local.
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Californians this fall will decide whether to require voters to show proof of citizenship before casting ballots.
Background: A GOP-backed voter ID ballot initiative on Friday qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot, marking a significant win for San Diego Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who led the signature-gathering campaign. DeMaio and other Republican operatives have pushed for tighter voter restrictions in deep-blue California for years.
What would the measure do? If voters approve it, they would be required to show a government-issued ID each time they go to the polls, while mail-in ballots would need the last-four digits of an ID, such as a driver’s license. The secretary of state and county election offices would also be required to verify voters’ registration each time they vote.
Read on ... for more about the ballot initiative.
Californians this fall will decide whether to require voters to show proof of citizenship before casting ballots.
A GOP-backed voter ID ballot initiative on Friday qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot, marking a significant win for San Diego Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, who led the signature-gathering campaign. DeMaio and other Republican operatives have pushed for tighter voter restrictions in deep-blue California for years.
If voters approve it, they would be required to show a government-issued ID each time they go to the polls, while mail-in ballots would need the last-four digits of an ID, such as a driver’s license. The secretary of state and county election offices would also be required to verify voters’ registration each time they vote.
Currently, voters only need to provide an ID and Social Security number when they register to vote. Thirty-six states require or recommend voters show some form of identification at the polls, according to a 2025 report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“This is an initiative that’s incredibly popular amongst Democrats and Republicans,” GOP state Sen. Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach told CalMatters. “I think the only way we don’t get this passed is if we get [outspent]. So we’re working very hard with an on-the-ground campaign apparatus.”
Strickland and others who have helped lead the campaign attribute the initiative’s rapid certification to Julie Luckey, mother of tech billionaire Palmer Luckey who helped seed the majority of the $10 million the campaign committee has raised in the past year.
Voting rights groups say the initiative will suppress turnout among eligible voters who don’t have the documents on hand, many of whom are disproportionately poor and people of color.
Opponents, including the state’s most powerful labor unions, plan to campaign heavily against it.
Voter fraud is rare in California. However, claims of fraud and concerns about election integrity have risen since President Donald Trump touted false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Californians broadly support voter identification at the polls but are split along ideological lines when given specific details about the ballot measure, according to a 2026 poll from the UC Berkeley Institute of Government Studies. When told the measure is meant to combat voter fraud and that it could suppress eligible votes, support dipped to 37%.
