The Brief

It wasn’t that long ago that Los Angeles was on top of the world. The Dodgers were the World Series champs, feted by tens of thousands of joyous fans in a boisterous parade through downtown L.A.

Two months later, came the wildfires and the terrible losses.

In the weeks since the fires tore through the region on Jan. 7, the sports community has played a prominent role in relief efforts, be it through the donations of franchise owners or superstars visiting with first responders and those displaced by the fires.

DodgerFest offered fans many photo ops with props like this giant replica of a Dodgers foam finger.

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Meanwhile, the games in season have gone on, giving fans an outlet into which they can pour their emotions.

Ossie Collins, a big fan of the Lakers and Dodgers, says he need only look to Los Angeles’ past to remember how sports uplift.

In 1992, when civil unrest rocked the city after LAPD officers were acquitted in the beating of Rodney King, Collins, then in his teens, found himself looking for comfort.

He turned to the Dodgers, which returned to Dodger Stadium 16 days after the unrest, so he could just have "something that felt normal."

"You don't know what you're feeling," Collins said. "But when you see something you enjoy, it just makes you feel good, even for a little bit of time, it just brings you relief."

Millions in donations

Collins was among the thousands of fans who showed up Saturday for DodgerFest, the annual fan extravaganza for die-hards who brave long lines for a chance to see their favorite players and pick up gear for the upcoming season.

A sober undercurrent ran through this year's edition. Proceeds from ticket sales and fundraisers were going to wildfire recovery. The Dodgers' foundation has, along with Dodgers Chairman Mark Walter and his foundation, pledged to give up to $100 million to relief efforts.

"I think a lot of people outside of L.A. do not understand that L.A. is strong and resilient, and sports are a reason for that," said Amanda Rykoff who attended DodgerFest.

Amanda Rykoff of West Hollywood came to DodgerFest, happy that part of the proceeds from the event were being directed to fire relief.

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Rykoff works in development for Jewish Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Los Angeles, which hosted a pop-up camp at its Glendale facilities for Altadena kids affected by the Eaton Fire. Rykoff, whose close friend and work acquaintance lost homes in the fires, was grateful for sports philanthropy.

Clippers’ owner Steve Ballmer has pledged to match the $60 million-plus raised by the FireAid concerts held at his venues, the Kia Forum and Intuit Dome, where his NBA franchise plays.

"Sports has an incredible power to bring people together, to not only celebrate wins, but also show that we are a community," Rykoff said.

The atmosphere and crowds for DodgerFest made it feel like game day.

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Giving hope

There are plenty of examples of sports helping to get communities back on their feet. Think the New Orleans Saints after Hurricane Katrina. Or the New York Yankees after 9/11.

Sports also proved a bright spot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Toyin Green, a kindergarten teaching in L.A., was teaching via Zoom and the kids were having a hard go of it. Then she remembered the Dodgers had just won the 2020 World Series the day before.

Dodger fans braved long lines and crowds to attend DodgerFest at Dodger Stadium.

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"I said, 'Wait a minute, you guys, today's a special day," Green said. "We won a game. Do you know what happened? And then they were like, 'Yay, Dodgers!' And they all ran and got their Dodger stuff."

Their parents joined them on the Zoom squares, cheering and wearing their own Dodgers gear.

Another fan Jacob Mandel, a Navy veteran from Torrance, said he leaned on his love of the Dodgers as he moved around the country, from station to station.

Christian Gonzalez (r.) and Jacob Mandel (l.), veterans attending UCLA, bonded over their love for the Dodgers.

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"I actually watched the Dodgers lose their back-to-back World Series on my [aircraft] carrier," Mandel said. "It was a pretty miserable experience."

He says tasting defeat, though, only makes seeing the Dodgers succeed even sweeter. Whenever he’d get homesick, he’d pick up the phone and talk Dodgers with his dad.

"The Dodgers have been present for some moments, where I felt a little bit down," Mandel said. "And, you know, they do have a big place in my heart. And I love them to death."

For the last three years, the record store and music venue Healing Force of the Universe has been operating on a sleepy street corner not far from Pasadena City College. Nearby businesses include a shoe repair store, a nail salon and several auto shops.

“We're kind of in a dead corner,” owner Austin Manuel said. “No offense if anybody lives here, but not a very foot-trafficked area, kind of a hard place to have a store.”

In spite of the location, Manuel said Healing Force has become a home away from home for musicians and music fans. One of them is Bobby Bradford, a jazz trumpet legend who lost his house and personal archive in the Eaton Fire. He performs regularly at the venue. (Healing Force has also partnered with LAist on fire recovery events.)

Its current location is set to close this month, but Manuel and his team are already raising funds to cover a move to another space: G-Son Studios in Atwater Village. The repurposed ballroom was the Beastie Boys' home base when they recorded their classic albums Check Your Head and Ill Communication. Run-DMC and Biz Markie stopped by at one point, and Beck also laid down tracks for his album Odelay there.

Inside Healing Force's space in Pasadena.

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The vibe

Healing Force sells records, of course, but these days it’s more of a nighttime performance space. Manuel said he wants people to feel comfortable striking up conversations after a show.

“I grew up in the church in the South, and I was like, ‘How do I design this so that it feels like a Southern church lady could come in here and feel welcome?’" Manuel said. “ I didn't want it to be too cool.  I wanted it to feel kind of suburban in a way.”

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Though the name might call to mind a cult slogan — and Manuel said they lean into that aesthetic on purpose — it’s actually a reference to the 1970 album Music Is the Healing Force of the Universe by saxophonist Albert Ayler.

At the venue, “people can kind of get … into a meditative zone,” Manuel said. “After the [January 2025] fires, it felt so good to come back together in this room and feel the healing of community.”

Healing Force's stage setup.

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The performances

The shows Healing Force puts on share a common thread: They’re meant to promote peace and relaxation, as well as deep, careful listening on the hi-fi sound system. But they’re an eclectic mix of genres. On one night, you might see L.A. spiritual jazz band Phi-Psonics, who turned a residency at the venue into a live album, Expanding to One.

On another night, you might catch a spaced-out electronic set, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter or a group of session musicians who’ve played with the likes of Paul Simon, Elton John and Lucinda Williams.

About the fundraiser

With the new space on Glendale Boulevard, Manuel said, Healing Force would triple its capacity for concerts, get a bar space and be closer to other venues in Northeast L.A.

“If 1,000 people gave $25, we would get there,” Manuel said – though he also said most people have been giving more.

You can read more about the fundraiser and donate at Healing Force’s GoFundMe.

See the Pasadena space before it closes

The venue is still open at 1200 E. Walnut Street and is holding events through this Halloween weekend. You can see their events calendar on their website.

The racist DNA of Jim Crow discrimination may be embedded in your housing documents.

The language in housing documents that restricts sale or use of a property only to a person of the white race is called a “restrictive covenant,” and in California the practice goes back to the 19th century and continued into the mid-20th century. While housing discrimination persists, the practice was found unconstitutional in 1948.

California counties are reporting mixed progress in meeting the demands of a 2021 law to excise the language from property records.

According to Sylvia Manzo, deputy recorder in the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s office, the county finished the job in March of this year, removing racist language from more than 27,000 property documents with the help of computer software.

This 1924 property document from Bakersfield includes racist language limiting use of the property in question to people of "the white or Caucasian race."

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L.A. County is far from done. It says that with the help of an outside company hired in 2024, 50 million pages will be examined yearly, which would take about 10 years to finish the job.

Public agencies could use the public’s help.

Language examples

Here’s a 1924 example from a property in Bakersfield. The text reads, “That the lands herein conveyed shall never, at any time, be sold to or rented to or occupied by any person not of the white or Caucasian race.”

Or this language from a 1936 document relating to a Costa Mesa property: “That said premises shall not be sold, conveyed, rented, or leased to, or occupied by any person of African, Mexican, or Asiatic descent.”

How to get it taken out

The Restrictive Covenant Modification Form is at the heart of the effort to remove the racist language from housing documents. Each county has its own process. Some charge a fee; others don’t. Some require a notary certification for the signature; others don’t.

L.A. County:

Registrar-Recorder officials recommend these steps:

• Highlight or underline the unlawful provision on the recorded document
• Complete the Restrictive Covenant Modification Form
• Submit the form and the recorded document by email: RCM@rrcc.lacounty.gov or in person at the Norwalk headquarters at 12400 Imperial Highway in Norwalk
• Mail instructions are here.

Orange County:

The Orange County spokesperson says there may be some properties not caught by its software and urges the public to report them. Here’s the form

Riverside County:

Here’s the Riverside County form

San Bernardino County:

Here’s the San Bernardino County form

San Diego County:

Here’s the San Diego County form

Santa Barbara County:

Here’s the Santa Barbara County form

Ignoring the racist language in property documents, some say, reinforces the legacy of segregation, while taking steps to remove restrictive covenant language is a way individuals and organizations can repudiate policies that sought to discriminate.