The Brief

It's a sparkling afternoon and the Goodyear Blimp is cruising above the southern shoreline of Los Angeles, a few miles from its base in the suburb of Carson.

The airship's slender gondola, which has seats for eight passengers, is a little under the size of a school bus and has a gobsmacking, 360-degree view. Dolphins bounce over waves and seals flop off a floating dock below.

Goodyear Chief Pilot Taylor Deen steers the blimp above Los Angeles' southern shoreline.

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Chloe Veltman

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There's no door separating the cockpit from the rest of the craft, so a dizzying display of buttons, switches and levers is on full view. One of them, the "Weight On Wheels" switch (it turns on the transponder allowing air traffic control to track the blimp in flight) is fittingly labeled "WOW."

Grabbing headlines — and the public's attention

The Goodyear Blimp has been wowing people for a century, though it's changed quite a bit since Goodyear's first branded blimp, The Pilgrim, started bobbing gracefully across American skies in 1925. Back then, it was a true blimp — that is, a giant, soft balloon full of helium. Today's Goodyear blimps — the company has a trio of the airships spread across Ohio, California and Florida — are still helium-filled. But they have a semi-rigid frame which supports structures like their tail fins and engines.

Though other companies built airships as far back as the late 19th century for both military and commercial uses, Goodyear's blimps became some of the most famous when they debuted.

A Goodyear blimp lands on top of the Emerson & Orme building in Washington, D.C., in 1928 — one of the many publicity stunts the tire company undertook to draw attention to its brand.

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Courtesy The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

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"All of a sudden, these blimps began appearing all over the United States over parades, during holidays and major events," said John Geoghegan, the author of When Giants Ruled the Sky, a book about airships. "This is how they captured the imagination of the public."

Goeghegan said a string of headline-grabbing publicity stunts also helped bring the Goodyear Blimp into the public sphere, such as the day in 1928 when one landed on the roof of a department store in Akron, Ohio. "And of course that photograph ran in newspapers all across the United States," Geoghegan said.

Soon there were airship toys, airship postage stamps, and airship songs. Early films captured the luxury of long-distance travel by Zeppelin — German craft, which were much bigger than blimps and had a rigid frame.

They also used a more readily available — and more flammable — gas. Hydrogen.

Disasters keep airships in the public eye 

The public's carefree fascination with airships dimmed in the 1930s after deadly accidents started making headlines. Most famously: The Hindenburg.

The enormous Zeppelin airship, which held about 100 people, was finishing up a transatlantic flight in New Jersey in 1937. No one knows exactly what happened. But as it gracefully floated down to the ground, the hydrogen caught fire, suddenly exploding. Thirty-six people were killed. The entire shocking spectacle was captured by the mass media of the day.

"People saw this enormous tragedy happening kind of right before their eyes in the newsreels in theaters and on radio," said National Air and Space Museum Curator Emeritus Tom Crouch. "So it's something people remember."

An advertising, event-covering icon

The Hindenburg disaster meant that the glamorous era of commercial passenger travel on airships was over.

But blimps and other airships continued to hover on the edges of the public imagination in movies, books and songs. The Goodyear Blimp had long been used as a giant advertisement for the company. In the post-war years, Goodyear intensified its efforts, working to get the brand in front of as many ordinary, tire-buying Americans as possible.

"We fly lower than we need to, we fly slower than we need to, because it's a big billboard for Goodyear," said Goodyear spokesperson Dan Smith. "We want people to see it."

Starting in the mid-1950s, the Goodyear blimp provided a vehicle for the live TV coverage of sports events, such as the annual Rose Bowl game in Pasadena pictured here in 1978.

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The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company

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The blimp has also become an integral part of live TV sports coverage beginning in the 1950s. The airships provided a groundbreaking aerial platform for the coverage of the Super Bowl and the World Series, among other events, adding to the spectacle.

Hollywood took note: The blimp was pivotal to the climax of the 1977 thriller Black Sunday. In the movie, a terrorist group attempts to blow up a Goodyear blimp as it hovers over the Super Bowl.

Cultural nostalgia

Blimps still occasionally show up in the culture — though now they are often steeped in nostalgia for the days when airships ruled American skies, such as with the 2023 steam-punky Airship: Kingdoms Adrift video game.

There are are also a handful of blimps that are leased by companies around the country for advertising or surveillance. But some other familiar blimps — like the MetLife blimp — have faded away. There's a worldwide shortage of helium, which makes each trip very expensive.

Yet there have been signs that airships might make a comeback. In the past couple of years, companies in the U.S. and around the world such as Lighter Than Air Research, founded by Google co-founder Sergey Brin, have announced plans to launch a new generation of commercial airships.

As for the Goodyear blimp — its footprint isn't what it once was. The company's airships helped cover more than 120 live events in 2014. In 2024, they covered fewer than 70. But Goodyear's Smith says the company plans to up its presence for its centennial year.

"You're going to be hard pressed to not find the Goodyear Blimp somewhere near you this year," he said.

The blimp is also attracting a new generation of fans — largely through social media. It has nearly 140,000 followers on Instagram.

Madison Opdahl and Niklas Tostar are big blimp fans. Goodyear invited them to take a ride in response to Tostar's many blimp-related posts on social media.

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Chloe Veltman

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" It's always fun to see the blimp flying around," said Madison Opdahl, a 27-year-old Los Angeles transplant, who recently got to take a ride in the blimp in honor of its 100th anniversary with her college buddy Niklas Tostar.

"We send photos of the blimp whenever we see it to each other," Tostar said. "We'll be at work or wherever the situation is, and it's just kind of a running inside joke, but also at the same time a little bit serious that we like the blimp so much."

Jennifer Vanasco edited digital versions of this story.

Copyright 2025 NPR

This story first published in The LA Local.

Take a deep breath. The elimination rounds of the World Cup have begun. Mexico will battle against Ecuador on Tuesday, with kickoff at 6 p.m. local time.

After winning every game in their group for the first time in their history, Mexico faces their toughest opponent yet. There is no room for mistakes, a loss means instant elimination for either team. Ecuador barely squeezed out of their group with a final impressive victory against Germany. Now potentially 80,000 Mexican fans await them in Estadio Azteca.

Here are the free spots showing the game all over Koreatown, Pico Union, and Westlake. There are no official park-sponsored watch parties in the local neighborhoods, according to the city’s Kick It In the Park schedule, but here are a few of the local sports bars, restaurants and other spots that will be showing the game.

Koreatown

The Line Hotel
3515 Wilshire Blvd. 
The hotel has been showing games throughout the tournament and will have special offers on drinks and food. The venue will show the game on a large LED screen, with live mariachi band and DJ set by Chulita Vinyl Club. There will also be a 90-minute unlimited margarita pitchers for $45 per person, according to the organizers. More information can be found here.

Biergarten
206 N. Western Ave.
Don’t be mistaken. The Biergarten is showing every match on multiple screens all over the bar. Their promise of Korean-German fusion is accompanied by a plethora of drinks on tap. More information can be found here.

Eastwood
611 S. Western Ave.
The country inspired bar and restaurant will host the game on various screens around the bar as well as serving bar towers and other specials. If the game isn’t enough of an emotional rollercoaster for fans, they can try their luck on the bar’s mechanical bull. Door will open at 430pm. More information can be found here.

Baja’s Grill Sports Cantina
3250 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 103
For flavors of Baja California during the game this Cantina will be running specials and happy hour. The Bar is surrounded by multiple screens and regularly hosts $35 open bars from 6-10pm.

Lock and Key 
239 S. Vermont Ave. 
The cocktail den will be hosting the game alongside $8 drink specials for margaritas, palomas, and vodka martinis. Multiple DJs will also be present during and after the game. More information can be found here.

DJM Soju Bar
3275 Wilshire Blvd.
The restaurant will host the game both indoors and outdoors alongside food and drink specials. They serve a variety of plates from spicy pork bulgogi, seafood soup, to sweet and sour chicken. A wide variety of soju is also offered. Doors will open at 4pm. More information can be found here.

Westlake and Pico Union 

Pulgarcito Family Restaurant 
2500 W. Pico Blvd.
This family-owned restaurant serves pupusas, quesabirria and plato de dirria, along with camarones a la diabla, plátanos fritos with beans and crema and many more Salvadorean meals. They also have cold drinks and multiple screens for the game. More information can be found here.

Casa Gish Bac Cocina Oaxaqueña                                                                                 1436 S. Vermont Ave. 
The Oaxacan restaurant will be showing the games on multiple TVs as well as on a projector. Happy hour is from 2-6pm right before kickoff. Deals include $5 beers and $2 tacos. They’re also sweetening the celebrations with a free shot with every Mexico goal. More information can be found here.

Huicho’s Bakery                                                                                                                 1250 Vermont Ave.
The local bakery will be showing the game outside of their shop on one TV. They offer a variety of Central American and Mexican food as well as pastries and bread.

Xecul Restaurante Guatemalteco
1051 S. Alvarado St.
The Guatemalan restaurant will show the game on two TVs indoors. They offer a wide variety of traditional Guatemalan flavors like their El Shuco Xecul as well as mixed fusion plates like Chowmein mixto.

Sol Agave
800 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite A130
For a more relaxed atmosphere this restaurant serves upscale Mexican cuisine and will be showing the game with TVs around their bar and dining areas. Margaritas and drink specials will be served.

Cafe con Ron
819 S. Flower St.
The Mexican seafood and brunch location will be hosting the game with TVs around their cantina area. They offer fish tacos as well as quesabirria and drink specials. More information can be found here.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday agreed to pay $9.6 million to the family of a man fatally shot by sheriff’s deputies in Compton in 2020 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

The unusually large settlement came amid claims Samuel Herrera Jr. was unarmed, targeted by deputies because he was Mexican American and that the deputies involved were part of a law enforcement gang.

The shooting was the subject of a rare coroner's inquest in 2021 — one of three conducted amid widespread criticism of law enforcement shooting in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. That inquest did not conclude deputies acted wrongfully.

A review by the District Attorney also determined the deputies acted within the law.

But a civil rights lawsuit filed by Herrera’s family claims deputies acted with negligence.

“This lawsuit concerns the outrageous and unlawful use of deadly force by county deputies and officers, as well as their malicious effort to distort the true facts of their own misconduct,” the lawsuit states. Herrera posed no threat to deputies, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Herrera’s two minor sons and minor daughter.

While the county admitted no wrongdoing, it's not unusual for the county to settle a lawsuit if they believe the damages could be higher if they lost in a jury trial.

A Corrective Action report issued by county lawyers laying out a chronology of events appeared to contradict the lawsuit’s allegations. It also said the use of force and tactical actions employed by some deputies were inconsistent with established policy, practice and training. Contributing factors included deficiencies in coordination, use of cover, communication, and target acquisition.

What the County Counsel report said

Deputies were serving an early morning search warrant on a house where Herrera, 41, was believed to be selling methamphetamine, according to a report by the County Counsel’s office. The report said Herrera was also believed to carry a gun when he sold drugs.

The deputies ended up outside a back garage where Herrera was inside. What happened next was a series of shootings by deputies.

The County Counsel said deputies heard gunshots from the garage and shot at one of the side doors when they thought they saw the barrel of a gun. When a second door opened, deputies fired again. A short time later a fire broke out in the garage, according to the report.

Herrera eventually crawled out of a hole in the garage and “paced back and forth, then turned to the left and made a sudden movement, as if to shoot at the deputies,” the County Counsel report said. Deputies opened fire.

Deputies fired “another volley of gunfire” as Herrera lay wounded on the ground, believing he was reaching for a gun. Herrera was hit by bullets 10 times, according to the medical examiner.

An AR-15 magazine and .45 Glock handgun magazine were found directly next to him, according to the report.

What the lawsuit said

The lawsuit by Herrera’s family claimed he was unarmed at the time of the shooting and said that he did not pose an “objectively reasonable threat” to anyone. It noted deputies opened fire on the garage while Herrera’s brother and a woman and child were still inside. Herrera’s brother Jesus suffered a gunshot wound.

Deputies “through the exercise of reasonable and due diligence, should have known that minors, infants, women and other unintended targets of their raid,” would be on the property.

The lawsuit also claimed Herrera and the others were targeted because they are Mexican American and that the deputies were part of a law enforcement gang.

The lawsuit states the shooting was “part of the county’s long-standing custom, habit, and practice of promoting certain gang-like clique members of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department who wear matching tattoos, and engage in initiation rites including using deadly force, seemingly as a part of some gang initiation-like rite, in an unreasonable or excessive manner against Black and Brown men in Los Angeles County.”

The lawsuit does not name the deputies that might have been involved.

A Loyola Law School report documents the existence of at least 18 different deputy gangs and cliques over the last five decades, such as the Banditos, Executioners, and Regulators.

In a statement, the Sheriff’s Department said it does not tolerate any gang-like behavior and “is actively addressing the long-standing issue of law enforcement gangs and is holding personnel accountable for misconduct related to gang like actions.”

The statement also said the department “categorically rejects any suggestion that our deputies target individuals based on race or ethnicity. Such allegations are inconsistent with our policies, training, oversight, and our commitment to constitutional policing.”

In a video reviewing the incident released shortly after the shooting, the unnamed narrator said deputies found a loaded AK-47 assault weapon and loaded handgun inside the garage. That video contains audio, still photos of the scene and text on screen, but no video.

California can continue its long-held policy of allowing transgender student athletes to play on girls’ and women’s sports teams, under a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued Tuesday.

“With this ruling, schools and states like California can continue to adopt inclusive policies that ensure every student is treated with dignity and respect,” Tony Hoang, executive director of the LGBTQ advocacy group Equality California said. “Inclusive policies are working across the country, including here in California, where transgender young people have participated in school sports for years without incident.”

The court’s 6-3 decision allows – but doesn’t require – states to bar transgender student athletes from playing on girls’ and women’s sports teams, upholding state laws in Idaho and West Virginia. Including California, 23 states let transgender students play on teams that align with their gender identity.

Proponents of a ban also celebrated the court’s ruling, saying it’s a major step forward in their fight to keep transgender athletes out of girls sports, and it potentially opens the door to restrictions in the future.

“The Supreme Court just delivered a major victory for girls and for common sense,” said Sonja Shaw, a Chino Valley Unified school board member who’s running for state superintendent. She added that “California should be leading the nation in protecting girls, not forcing them to surrender their rights … We will continue fighting until every girl has the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.”

California, an epicenter of the LGBTQ rights movement, has long maintained policies that protect transgender students in K-12 schools. The California Interscholastic Federation, which oversees high school sports in the state, also allows transgender students to play on sports teams that align with their gender identity.

Nationwide, LGBTQ advocates decried the court’s ruling as a blow to transgender peoples’ rights generally, especially in states that currently restrict – or are leaning toward restrictions of – those rights.

“The SCOTUS majority decision furthers the Trump administration’s widespread attack on civil rights protections and continued attempt to erase transgender individuals from society, including through distorted interpretation of law,” said Noreen Farrell, executive director of Equal Rights Advocates. “(We) will continue fighting for trans equality and trans rights.”

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.