Topline:
Japan is known for its adventurous snacks. But it blew our minds when we discovered a cola made in and for Japan named “Los Angeles.”
So? Thus begins a rabbit-hole sojourn into the world of Japanese cola.
Read on … to discover what we learned, including the existence of another Japanese cola with “Los Angeles” in its name.
When it comes to snacks, the Japanese do it like no others.
But something I discovered recently took it to another level: A cola sold and manufactured in Japan named "Los Angeles."
Next thing you know, I was out about $20 for a couple cans of the stuff, procured from a website that imported and sold "exotic" snacks in the U.S.
Then came the inevitable rabbit-hole dive into how a cola in Osaka ended up paying tribute to a city thousands of miles away.
Instead of an answer, what I found were the fragments of memories from someone who grew up with the soft drink, long before they immigrated to the United States.
The Los Angeles that has loomed large in the global imagination — that of movie stars, palm trees swaying in a sea breeze, and Mickey and Minnie — applies just as well to Japan.
"Los Angeles obviously is associated with the culture industry, with Hollywood. But it's also very much associated with leisure," said E. Taylor Atkins, a Japanese historian at Northern Illinois University.
But the hold is also tangible. Japanese people arrived in Hawaii in 1868 to work on sugarcane plantations. By 1910s, Los Angeles was home to the United States’ largest population of Japanese immigrants. To date, only three historical Japantowns remain in the U.S. — L.A.’s Little Tokyo being the biggest.
"There's some familiarity because there's a large Japanese American community in the Los Angeles area," said Emily Anderson, a curator at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown Los Angeles.
To Anderson, who is conducting research for a future exhibit at JANM focused on Japanese American food, the existence of a Japanese cola named “Los Angeles” isn't so different from the many other ways food straddles continents and cultures — mochi ice cream, the California roll, spam musubi.
"Food is like, anybody can try to make things; anybody can invent things," Anderson said. "All species require food to survive, but food is also memory and love and comfort and belonging and identity."
Anderson said that although she couldn’t speak specifically to Los Angeles Cola, she might have just the person.
"I'm also simultaneously messaging a friend of mine who's from Osaka to see if she's heard” of it, Anderson said. “It would be amazing though if my friend does because you should talk to her."
Japan started making homegrown cola in 1952 with the debut of Win-Cola, followed by Mission Cola a year later, according to the Japan Soft Drink Inspection Association, which certifies carbonated drinks and fruit drinks in the country.
Coca-Cola had entered Japan in limited quantities at various times, but it wasn't until the early 1960s when the granddaddy of them all became widely available.
But Japan never stopped dabbling in making domestic versions of the carbonated drink — if Los Angeles Cola is any indication.
"I have tasted Los Angeles Cola," said Hwaji Shin, Anderson’s friend, who is a sociologist at the University of San Francisco.
That was back in her hometown of Osaka in the 1990s. But don't ask her if it's any better than Coke.
" I'm one of those people who can't tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke and Diet Coke and Cherry Coke,” Shin said. “So it was brown, carbonated water to me."
Shin's grandparents were part of a wave of Korean migrants who went to Japan for work during the colonial period — some were forced without pay. After World War II, about 600,000 of them decided to stay in Japan. Subsequent generations are commonly known as Zainichi Koreans, a minority group in Japan.
" So my family had a lot of ad hoc business that's just a survival mode of migrants everywhere," Shin said.
For example, her mom started a string of side gigs, including a laundromat, where she installed a vending machine. It was so popular their neighbors decided to get their own.
"One of them was a Sangaria vending machine, which produced Los Angeles Cola," Shin said, which locals thought of as a "knockoff, cheaper version of Coca-Cola."
Shin vaguely remembered seeing other domestic cola brands, many of which ended up falling out of favor. Los Angeles Cola itself was discontinued in 2005, and brought back years later by popular demand, according to Sangaria.
But that cola isn't the only one inspired by our city. Behold Los Angeles Sunshine or LAS Cola from the city of Kobe.
Shin tasted that one too — and it comes with a story. "My dad was a big fan of Coke," she said. The American Coke.
He was admitted to college, a feat for a Korean kid in Japan back in the day. His father had died of cancer around that time. Unable to afford tuition, his mom asked him to get a job.
At the time, as it is now, Shin said, many doors were closed for migrants in Japan. Eventually her father landed a warehouse gig at the port in Kobe.
After his death, Shin asked her mom about his love for Cola-Cola. She said one of the best parts about the warehouse job for her dad was that every day after work, the president of the company would give each worker a cold bottle of Coke.
"It was very expensive. It was a very, very rare commodity," Shin said her mom told her. "And he never tasted anything that refreshing, like he would never forget that taste."
About a decade ago, Shin and her sister visited Kobe. For old time’s sake, they ordered a Coke at a restaurant in honor of their father.
Shin took a sip of the soft drink.
"I remember [it] tasting a little bit different," she said
Unbeknownst to her, it was Los Angeles Sunshine. That was her first, last and only brush with LAS.
" And then, you know, I was telling my sister, 'It's very refreshing.'"
Topline:
The Dodgers Foundation says it's expanding Dodgers Dreamteam, its program for underserved youth. The foundation says the program will be able to serve 17,000 kids this year, 2,000 more than last year.
Why it matters: Now in its 13th season, the program connects underserved youth with opportunities to play baseball and softball and provides participants with free uniforms and access to baseball equipment. It also offers training for coaches in positive youth development practices, as well as wraparound services for participant families like college workshops, career panels, literacy resources and scholarship opportunities.
How to sign up: For more information and to sign up, click here.
Topline:
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season. It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
What happened? Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
Why it matters: Experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains. State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs. “I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
California clocked its second-worst snowpack on record Wednesday, a potentially troubling signal ahead for fire season.
It’s an alarming end to a winter that saw abnormally dry conditions briefly wiped from California’s drought map in January, for the first time in a quarter-century.
Though precipitation to date has been near average, much of it fell as rain rather than snow. Then March’s record-breaking heat melted most of the snow that remains. The state’s major reservoirs are nevertheless brimming above historic averages and are flirting with capacity, and a smattering of snow, rain and thunderstorms are dousing last month’s heat wave.
But experts now warn that California’s case of the missing snowpack could herald an early fire season in the mountains.
On Wednesday, state engineers conducting the symbolic April 1 snowpack measurement at Phillips Station south of Lake Tahoe found no measurable snow in patches of white dotting the grassy field.
“I want to welcome you call to probably one of the quickest snow surveys we’ve had — maybe one where people could actually use an umbrella,” joked Karla Nemeth, director of the California Department of Water Resources. “We’re getting a lot of questions about are we heading into a hydrologic drought? The answer is, I don’t know.”
State data reports that California’s snowpack is closing out the season at an alarming 18% of average statewide, and an even more abysmal 6% of average in the northern mountains that feed California’s major reservoirs.
Only the extreme drought year of 2015 beat this year’s snowpack for the worst on record, measuring in at just 5% of average on April 1st, when the snow historically is at its deepest.
“I think everyone's anticipating that it will be a long, busy fire season,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, director of the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources Fire Network.
“Without a snowpack, and with an early spring, it just means that there’s much more time for something like that to happen.”
In the city of South Lake Tahoe, which survived the massive Caldor Fire in the fall of 2021 without losing any structures, fire chief Jim Drennan said his department is already ramping up prevention efforts.
“It's pretty bizarre up here right now. It really seems like June conditions more than March,” Drennan said. “People are already turning the sprinklers on for their lawns.”
Without more precipitation, an early spring may complicate prescribed burning efforts. But Drennan said fire agencies in the Tahoe basin can start mechanically clearing fuels from forest areas earlier than usual.
“That means we can get more work done,” he said.
It also means homeowners need to start hardening their homes now, said Martin Goldberg, battalion chief and fuels management officer for the Lake Valley Fire Protection District, which protects unincorporated communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s south shore.
Goldberg urges residents to scour their yards for burnable materials, create defensible space and reach out to local fire departments with questions. The risks are widespread — from firewood, wooden fences, gas cans, plants, pine needles — even lawn furniture stacked against a house.
“In years past, I wouldn't even think of raking and clearing until May,” Goldberg said. “But my yard's completely cleared of snowpack, and it has been for a couple weeks now.”
Battalion chief David Acuña, a spokesperson for Cal Fire, said fire season is shaped by more than just one year’s snowpack.
Climate change has been remaking California’s fire seasons into fire years. And California’s recent average to abundant water years have fueled what Acuña called “bumper crops of vegetation and brush.”
“Most of California is like a haystack. And if you’ve ever seen a haystack fire, they burn very intensely because there's layers of fuel,” Acuña said.
Like Quinn-Davidson, Acuña wasn’t ready to make specific predictions about fires to come.
But John Abatzoglou, a professor of climatology at UC Merced, said the temperatures and snowpack conditions this year offer a glimpse of California in the latter decades of this century, as fossil fuel use continues to drive global temperatures higher.
How this year’s fires will play out will depend on when, where and how wind, heat, fuel and ignitions combine. But it foreshadows the consequences of a warmer California for water and fire under climate change.
“This,” Abatzoglou said, “is yet another stress test for the future in the state.”
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
The Santa Monica Airport will close in 2028 and become a sprawling public park that city officials say will improve quality of life and boost green space.
What we know: The city is in the very early stages of planning how to transform the 192 acres into a park. The preliminary report shows some potential amenities of the park, such as gardens, biking trails, art galleries, a community center and much more.
Background: After a long legal battle between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration, a settlement was reached that ruled that the city could close the more than 100-year-old airport. The park was controversial among residents because of air quality and noise concerns, and was the subject of many legal battles in recent decades.
What’s next? The city wants to hear from residents. You’re encouraged to review the framework and fill out this survey. Feedback will be accepted until April 26.
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Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
What’s new: The changes apply to certain immigrants who are here lawfully, including refugees and asylees. It also applies to people from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special visas for helping the U.S. military overseas.
Why now: The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
What’s next: Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
Thousands of immigrants who are lawfully in California are set to lose their food assistance benefits, known as CalFresh, starting this month.
The new restrictions stem from H.R. 1 — also known as the “Big Beautiful Bill” — which Congress passed last year.
The changes remove eligibility for certain noncitizens, including people with refugee status and victims of trafficking. It also applies to immigrants from Iraq and Afghanistan who have special immigrant visas for helping the U.S. government overseas.
”These are folks … many of whom have large families that we have a commitment to as a country because we welcomed them and invited them here to find a place of refuge,” said Cambria Tortorelli, president of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a refugee resettlement agency. “They’re authorized to work and they’ve been brought here by the U.S. government.”
The federal spending bill, H.R. 1, made sweeping cuts to social safety net programs, including food assistance and Medicaid. In signing the bill, President Donald Trump said the changes were delivering on his campaign promises of “America first.”
Officials estimate 23,000 people in Los Angeles County will be affected. The state estimates about 72,000 immigrants with lawful presence will be affected across California.
CalFresh is the state’s version of the federally funded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. Undocumented immigrants have not been eligible to receive CalFresh benefits.
State officials say noncitizens who are currently receiving benefits will continue to get them until it’s time to renew their benefits — adding that people might be able to receive benefits again if their legal status changes to lawful permanent residents.
