The Brief

Welcome to LAist City Treks, a series of easy hikes and walks that will help you explore the parts of Los Angeles and SoCal we rarely get to see — or only see through the car window. Expect to get about 5K steps, and plenty of photos for your social media channels. Keep scrolling, because you'll also find recommendations for grabbing a quick bite to eat once you're finished.

Where are we headed?

Why now?

In its peak year of 1924, a staggering 109,185,650 passengers rode Los Angeles’ premier streetcar line, the Pacific Electric Red Car. Up until 1955, one of its most popular routes was from downtown to Glendale, with a stop on the east bank of the Los Angeles River.

While we can’t go back in time and ride the trolley (at least, not yet), we can at least experience ephemeral reminders of its former glory in Atwater Village, a place where the past comfortably commingles with the vibrant present.

Quickly, what can I expect?

• Route conditions: Nearly all flat, paved sidewalks and walkways (with the option to detour on unpaved trails at Sunnynook River Park)
• Difficulty: An easy 1 on a scale of 1 to 5
• Distance: About 2.5 miles, with the option to add on more if desired
• Dog friendly: Yes, and you'll walk by the Morrison Restaurant which touts its dog-friendly patio.
• Parking: Street parking, free
• Bathrooms: Several opportunities to stop in at businesses along the way, so you might want bring a few singles to tip in exchange for using the facilities.

Map it!

OK, let's get started ...

Nostalgia is a funny thing. Many Angelenos — myself included — were not even alive during the Red Car era, yet we pine for the trolley’s re-emergence. As Southern California Railway Museum puts it, Los Angeles was home to America's largest electric railway system, "blanketing the Los Angeles region with more than 1,000 miles of rail lines."

This loop through Atwater Village kicks off at Red River Park, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it sliver of green just east of the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge where the Red Car once crossed over to the center median of Glendale Boulevard.

The entrance to this walking area sneaks up on you. It's easy to miss, especially when there are many cars parked along the street.

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It leads to a 430-foot-long pedestrian and cycling bridge over the L.A. River, reinforcing the adage “what’s old is new.” After the last train rumbled over the river, the tracks were ripped up, leaving behind several concrete stanchions protruding from the water.

What it used to look like

What it looked like back in the day: A vintage shot of the Pacific Electric Railway Company streetcar crossing the Los Angeles River on the Glendale Line on April 17, 1952.

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What it looks like today

You'll walk across this pedestrian bridge to get to the other side of the L.A. River, and enjoy walking along the bike trail. Just stay to the far right.

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Forlorn and purposeless, the pillars got a new lease on life when the Red Car Bridge, upon which you will tread as you walk across it, was laid over them in 2020. The viaduct’s decorative red stripes are a winking tribute to the erstwhile trolleys.

After you step off the bridge, being mindful of cyclists, turn right on the L.A. River bicycle path. The river factors into Atwater’s etymology: When it was subdivided in 1902, the tract was advertised as “at-water.” You'll pass under the Glendale-Hyperion Bridge, a 13-arch work of art designed by Merrill Butler in 1927.

What makes this stretch of the L.A. River special

Up ahead, Sunnynook River Park emerges on your left. Pause if you like to stroll its paths of restored native vegetation along the bike path. The park’s riparian trees are in keeping with the Glendale Narrows, the name given to an 11-mile stretch through Northeast L.A. While much of the L.A. River is encased in concrete, this section boasts a natural soft bottom, much to the delight of the herons and egrets who feast on fish (and to you, who delight in herons and egrets).

Once you've taken in the park, you'll cross back over the river via an older pedestrian bridge. Officially called the Sunnynook Bridge, it’s better known as the Love Lock Bridge. You'll find dozens of locks fastened to the fencing. It’s a place for soulmates to solidify their love, minus the potential regret of lifelong tattoos!

That pedestrian bridge crossing back over the river? That's where you're headed.

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The entrance to the footbridge back over the L.A. River.

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This is a popular place for lovers to leave behind a padlock.

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Once you're off the footbridge, you'll turn left and contine walking along the banks of the L.A. River, to Los Feliz Boulevard.

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When you step off this pedestrian bridge, turn left and continue on the river's walkway.

Then, exit and turn right onto Los Feliz Boulevard.

The next few blocks feature mom-and-pop stores and two iconic theme establishments — Bigfoot Lodge and the Tam O’Shanter.

The Disney connection

Occupying the corner of Los Feliz and Boyce Avenue since 1922, the Tam was designed by Harry Oliver, an Oscar-nominated art director who also took on non-studio clients. Oliver was a leading architect of the Storybook style. As the name implies, its structures were defined by crooked windows, pitched roofs, and whimsical flourishes — think Hansel and Gretel’s fairy tale house, or the real-life "Witch's House" in Beverly Hills (also designed by Oliver).

If you look closely, you can still see Walt Disney's fingerprints at the Tam.

The original Disney studio was just over the river in Silver Lake. Walt Disney himself (and his animators) frequented the roadhouse so often that the Tam was the de facto studio commissary. In fact, Disney’s legacy is well-preserved in the lobby of Tam O'Shanter's.

Sketches of Mickey Mouse and his gang hang on the walls, including one drawn by Walt himself. (Book a dinner reservation for later: A plaque memorializes Walt’s favorite table — the much-sought-after Table 31 — near the fireplace.)

One could see how the restaurant appealed to Walt. How much so is debatable, but there are clear parallels between the Tam and the whole Village Haus portion of Disneyland’s Fantasyland. A more direct link is the Hyperion-Glendale Bridge near this route's trailhead, and which led to Disney’s studio back in the day: A replica of it extends over Buena Vista Street at Disney California Adventure.

What's with all the turns?

After checking out the Tam, regroup back at the intersection of Los Feliz Boulevard and Boyce Avenue. You want to head southeast on Boyce Avenue. (Don't know which direction is southeast? As you walked up Los Feliz Boulevard and came upon the Tam, you would have turned right onto Boyce Avenue. So do that.)

Then, make your first right, onto Dover Street, and then take your second left, onto Edenhurst Avenue.

Why this zig-zag route?

It takes you through the heart of Atwater’s residential district, where you can enjoy some of the prettiest homes around. Deodar cedar trees provide ample shade as you take in an array of architectural styles dominated by 1920s Spanish-style bungalows, perfectly suited for the village’s relatively small lots.

Why Glendale Boulevard is so wide

A colorful building at the intersection of Edenhurt Street and Glendale Boulevard is painted in a variety of hues, a hint of the relaxed, breezy style this community is known for.

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Six blocks later, you'll find yourself at Glendale Boulevard, whose wide center median once served the Red Car tracks that ran through here.

Fortunately, Atwater’s main drag has staved off the type of decline that has gutted other L.A. business districts, thanks to its diverse and creative community, strong neighborhood pride, and a good mix of essential and trendy retailers that appeals to both locals and outsiders.

Here, you have a decision to make. You can turn right onto Glendale Boulevard and make your way back to your car.

Or, you can browse Glendale Boulevard's many boutiques, or languish in a neighborhood bar or bistro. We have a few dining recommendations below. Heck, Red Car River Park took some 50 years to come into being; what’s a few more minutes as it awaits your return?

Done! Where to eat?

LAist's Associate Editor for Food and Culture Gab Chabrán recommends the following four places in the area to grab a bite:

Hugo's Tacos

Tacos — soft or crispy — are so popular here at Hugo's. You might almost forget everything else that's on the menu, including burritos, protein bowls and quesadillas. And then there's the torta ahogada, served on a Mexican sandwich roll layered with beans, guac, your protein choice, veggies, and then griddled in a honey chipotle dressing.

Dune

Dune is known for its Mediterranean breakfasts — avocado toast with tomato confit on Bub and Grandma's sourdough — and fried chicken shawarma, as well as lavish meze plates made for sharing.

Proof Bakery

Proof Bakery is a slice of carb heaven. And it has plenty for those with a savory tooth as well as a sweet tooth. In additional to favorites such as croissants and fruit danishes, scones, and coffee cakes, there are also sandwiches, too, including a focaccia BLT.

Holy Basil

Considered to be some of the best Thai food in L.A. But Holy Basil is really all about chef Wedchayan “Deau” Arpapornnopparat's channeling of Thai flavors and Chinese influences into something uniquely original. The "Grandma's fish and rice" — the chef's beloved dish from childhood — is a favorite.

Where to next?

Any suggestions for great hikes in and around L.A.? Don't keep it to yourself! Let us know, and we might check them out for a future story.

Haddad is the author of the hiking bible 10,000 Steps A Day in LA and the upcoming Inventing Paradise: The Power Brokers Who Created the Dream of Los Angeles. Read more about Haddad here.

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a plan that would allow mid-sized apartment buildings of up to four stories near train lines in certain areas zoned for single-family homes.

The move is a delay tactic meant to help the city put off full implementation of a state law that would allow much larger apartment buildings — some of them up to nine stories tall. The law, known as Senate Bill 79, is expected to take effect July 1.

Since before it was signed into law last year, SB 79 has drawn opposition from several members of the council, as well as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, in keeping with a long-standing preference among many city leaders to leave untouched the three-quarters of L.A.’s residential land zoned for single-family homes.

On Tuesday, the council voted 13 to 0 (two council members were not present) to move forward with a plan that would encourage development of four- to 16-unit residential buildings in 55 areas of the city within a half-mile of transit stops.

The most affected areas include Central L.A., West L.A., the Eastside and parts of the San Fernando Valley, according to city officials.

Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, chair of the council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, described SB 79 as a “sledgehammer,” even though he said its goals — providing more housing options and reducing residents’ reliance on cars — were legitimate.

He said the option approved Tuesday is an alternative that focuses on local needs.

“Really, we want to see those alternatives, those thoughtful alternatives put in place as soon as we can,” he added. “Because ultimately that’s the way that we can meet the goals of SB 79 but do so in a less sledgehammer-y, less ham-handed way.”

How we got here

A provision in SB 79 allows cities to delay the law’s broadest effects until 2030, as long as those cities agree to allow more housing development in certain neighborhoods in the interim.

Last month, the city’s Planning Department produced a report containing three options (each with several sub-options) for consideration.

Blumenfield and Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky came up with a version of one of those options, which the council approved.

Yaroslavsky said SB 79 has flaws that have yet to be worked out, but the option considered Tuesday would allow construction of low-density apartments in single-family neighborhoods “for the first time in decades and some for the very first time ever.”

“We need more housing,” Yaroslavsky said. “What we decide today will shape what actually gets built across the city if we do it right.”

Other options would have reduced the number of affected areas or allowed taller builds.

Next steps

Yaroslavsky said the plan the City Council adopted Tuesday expands the Corridor Transition Program — a provision of the Citywide Housing Incentive Program — launched a little more than a year ago.

Although the program provides incentives for developers to build small, multi-family housing along transit corridors, no applications were submitted within its first year.

“Not because there’s no demand for this type of housing, but because the math doesn’t work,” Yaroslavsky said.

The new plan fixes some of the program’s problems, but not all of them, she said. For example, the Corridor Transition Program could be changed to increase allowable floor areas and update rules for three- and four-bedroom apartments, which are hard to find in L.A.

“If we expand this program today without fixing it, we’ll get additional zoning on paper and not necessarily housing in reality,” Yaroslavsky said.

She introduced a motion that she said focuses on making sure the homes “actually get built.” The motion was sent to the city’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee.

The side of the Maravilla Meat Market in East Los Angeles serves as muralist J.D. “Zender” Estrada’s own “little museum,” he said —  a collection of his life’s work as a Chicano artist.  

On one side, the 2004 mural “Homage to Mexican Masters” depicts various Mexican artists from the early to mid-20th century gathered around a table. Around the corner, his 1995 piece “Raza Adelante” honors the Chicano movement, featuring Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, a female Brown Beret, various Aztec motifs, and a heroic-looking César Chávez, leading the way with a candle.

For years, Estrada has maintained the murals himself, restoring damage from weather and graffiti. But recent sexual abuse allegations against Chávez have forced him to reflect on how movements and the people associated with them are memorialized. 

“If you look at the murals in context, most of the murals have a lot to do with culture and struggle and resistance,” Estrada said. 

The Chávez figure, he noted, was part of a larger narrative. It was commissioned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation in 1994, the same day that Brooklyn Avenue was renamed Cesar E. Chavez Avenue, to highlight the Chicano movement and its ties to the Eastside.

Following the New York Times investigation involving Chávez, public officials across LA County sprang into action, calling for changes to public landmarks, parks, street names and holidays that honor the labor leader. Across the state, some Chávez murals have been swiftly covered or painted over and statues have been removed. 

Estrada, however, said any changes should be collaborative and handled with care to preserve the artwork’s original intent and resolve the scars left behind by Chávez’s tarnished legacy. 

How are murals protected?

In addition to the mural at Maravilla Meat Market in unincorporated East LA, Estrada created several across the Eastside for the Cesar Chavez Foundation, though many have since been erased or painted over.

In Boyle Heights, within the city of Los Angeles, his 1994 mural “Rescate” remains on the corner of East Cesar Chavez Avenue at North Evergreen Avenue, depicting Chávez carrying a group of people while holding a United Farm Workers flag.

The side of the Maravilla Meat Market in East Los Angeles serves as muralist J.D. “Zender” Estrada’s own “little museum,” he said — a collection of his life’s work as a Chicano artist.

“Rescate” is considered a Vintage Original Art Mural (VAM) under the City of Los Angeles’s 2013 Mural Ordinance, which lifted a 2002 ban on murals on private property. The ordinance gave artists the ability to register their previous works and apply to create new ones. Any mural created before October 12, 2013, was automatically protected under the ordinance.

The ordinance directs that any major change to a registered mural must first be approved by the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, even if it is submitted by the artist themselves, Estrada said.

Most of his works, even those not located in the city, are protected under the Visual Artists’ Rights Act (VARA), a federal law that grants artists certain rights over their work regardless of who owns it. Those changes, like touch-ups over time or restorations after they are vandalized, come out of his own pocket, Estrada said. 

Both the city and the county are exploring ways to assess changes to public property that bears the name or image of Chávez following the investigation, but those efforts do not include either of Estrada’s murals, which are located on private businesses.

At the county level, the LA County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday “to develop a community-driven process to review and rename County assets that currently bear Chavez’s name,” including civic artwork, or artwork located on county property. A report is due within 21 days.

In a statement to Boyle Heights Beat, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs said it could not comment on legal questions but said murals on private property may be protected under state and federal law.

 “For murals on City property, the Department is determining its next steps to address any changes,” said Gabriel Cifarelli, public information director. 

Estrada said he has been in contact with both the Supervisor Hilda Solis and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado’s offices to propose changes to his artworks that preserve their original intent and hopes that the offices will work with him to provide the resources he needs. 

Working together to find resolve 

As the public continues to grapple with the allegations of sexual abuse against Chávez and his legacy as a leader of the farmworkers movement, some say the work that he and other leaders did to secure rights and fair working conditions for farmworkers will live beyond his image.

Standing in front of Estrada’s “Rescate” mural last week, Anabel Meza, said it’s important to not see historical figures as “black and white.”

“It’s common to have these heroic or noble people that have fought for really good causes but they also have dark sides to them, because they are human,” Meza said. “We need to step away from glorifying or putting them on pedestals.”

Last week, the Maravilla Meat Market took to Instagram to share a message with the community. 

“Speaking up takes courage, and those voices deserve to be heard and taken seriously,” the post reads. 

“Our murals are not random images. They are custom, commissioned works that represent history, culture, struggle, and identity,” the post continues, acknowledging that as a small business, changing or removing a mural of that scale requires time and money but they expressed their commitment to working with Estrada to determine its future.

“We will never ask an artist to redo work for free. His work matters. His time matters. His livelihood matters,” the post reads.

Estrada said the murals were painted to last for decades and function as historical landmarks. Altering them properly would require thousands of dollars and the same quality materials used originally.  

Restoration, he said, is not as simple as painting over a face and should continue to highlight Mexican-American culture and the voices of the farmworkers movement that were ignored.

“I would love to include the Filipinos that were all part of the struggle,” Estrada said, referring to the Filipino farmworkers who initiated the historic 1965 Delano grape strike, a movement later widely associated with Chávez and the United Farm Workers. 

Estrada said he would like to work with officials to restore the murals he has painted across the region in a meaningful way.  

He pointed to a Spanish saying: “No hay mal que por bien no venga.” 

“You can always get something positive out of a negative situation,” Estrada said. “Let this be something that we can learn from.”

The post His César Chávez murals have been Eastside landmarks for decades. He says change should be thoughtful. appeared first on LA Local.

Last year, more Californians filed claims for paid family leave through a state program than ever before, but for Californians who are self-employed or own their own businesses, it’s a different story.

Unlike private sector workers who automatically pay into the State Disability Insurance program through payroll deductions, self-employed workers have to opt-in to a separate program to be able to claim benefits. That program is called Disability Insurance Elective Coverage, or DIEC.

“ A lot of folks are unfamiliar with it,” said  Bianca Blomquist, California director at Small Business Majority.

As of last week, only 1,326 self-employed Californians have opted to participate in the DIEC program, according to the California Employment Development Department. In 2024, more than 2 million Californians reported they were self-employed.

Siobhán Gallagher, a freelance illustrator in Laguna Hills, hadn’t heard about the program. She had her baby two months ago, and has already taken on some freelance work.

“I can still hold her while I'm drawing or like while emailing, but I think it'll definitely be harder as she gets bigger,” she said.

She added that there should be more done to make the program for self-employed workers more well-known — like having it included in paperwork that the doctor’s office hands out to people who are pregnant.

Blomquist said self-employed workers don’t have access to human resources departments or other resources that can tell them about these state leave programs. In addition to the lack of awareness, she said the program also works differently than the program for workers who are payroll.

How DIEC works

For private sector workers in California on payroll, 1.3% of wages is deducted each paycheck to fund the State’s Disability Insurance program, which pays out workers 70-90% of their wages when they go on leave for a disability or to bond with a new child. (California offers up to 39 weeks of disability insurance, and eight weeks of paid family leave).

For the DIEC program, the amount workers pay is higher. In 2026, the premium rate is 8.84% of their net profit.  

”Unlike state disability insurance, where I pay in every paycheck whether I need it or not — the pool of folks in [DIEC] IS a lot smaller and are actually using the benefits, which means that the rates are higher in that program,” Blomquist said.

A worker also has to opt into DIEC at least six months before taking leave — and stay in the program for two calendar years. For some, that might not be worth it. While the program offers the same wage replacement rate as the traditional leave program, Blomquist said she’s worked with small business owners to calculate their break-even points.

For Gallagher, she said even if she found out about DIEC before having her baby, it would have been too late.

“That would have not applied to me,” she said. “And like if the [leave] is unplanned, how are you supposed to anticipate that?”

Florita Ruiz, who owns her own child-care business in Sylmar, is eight months pregnant, but said she anticipates going back to work after a couple of weeks. Before pivoting into child care, Ruiz was an employee at a bank and took paid leave when she had her three children.

“ I had a peace of mind that I was gonna have time to be bonding my baby, but I knew that in this field, there was going to be a lot of challenges, but I love working with children,” she said.

Ruiz said she hadn’t heard about the DIEC program either. Though she would qualify to opt-in as a small business owner, she said she would be unable to take much time off because of the state’s licensing requirements that requires home daycare providers to be present for at least 80% of the time.

“ It is very overwhelming for me and my husband,” she said. “ I have to work, continue working after having my baby to keep up our business open.”

OpenAI is shutting down its social media app Sora, which went viral last fall as a place to share short-form videos generated by artificial intelligence but also raised alarms in Hollywood and elsewhere.

OpenAI said in a brief social media message Tuesday that it was "saying goodbye to the Sora app" and that it would share more soon about how to preserve what users already created on the app.

"What you made with Sora mattered, and we know this news is disappointing," it said.

The company behind ChatGPT released Sora in September as an attempt to capture the attention, and potentially advertising dollars, that follow short-form videos on TikTok, YouTube or Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook.

But a growing chorus of advocacy groups, academics and experts expressed concern about the dangers of letting people create AI videos on just about anything they can type into a prompt, leading to the proliferation of nonconsensual images and realistic deepfakes in a sea of less harmful "AI slop."

OpenAI was forced to crack down on AI creations of public figures — among them, Michael Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers — doing outlandish things, but only after an outcry from family estates and an actors' union.

Disney, which made a deal with OpenAI last year to bring its characters to Sora, said in a statement Tuesday that it respects "OpenAI's decision to exit the video generation business and to shift its priorities elsewhere."

"We appreciate the constructive collaboration between our teams and what we learned from it, and we will continue to engage with AI platforms to find new ways to meet fans where they are while responsibly embracing new technologies that respect IP and the rights of creators," Disney's statement said.
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