Topline:
The internet has fallen in love with a group of harmonica-playing Korean retirees who have been serenading hockey fans at the first-round NHL playoff series between our Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers.
Why now: The group performed the national anthem before three games in this series.
The backstory: The silver set hail from a harmonica class offered by the Koreatown Senior and Community Center on Normandie.
Read on ... to find out more about this K-town viral sensation.
Los Angeles is a purple and gold town. It's also a Dodger blue town. But one unsuspecting segment of the city has been locked in to the first-round Stanley Cup playoffs between our Los Angeles Kings and the Edmonton Oilers.
That segment? Korean retiree harmonica players from Koreatown. And even though the Kings are out of playoff contention, their viral videos live on.
Before Game 1 of the series on April 21, the group of about a dozen of harmonicists, attired in traditional Korean hanbok, took to the stage to serenade a crowd of some 20,000 with a rendition of the national anthem — and got them to sing along.
It was a sure bet to go viral. Indeed, the group was invited back to perform at Game 2 and Game 3 on Tuesday, where they were decked out in the Kings' black and silver.
The silver set hails from a harmonica class at the Koreatown Senior and Community Center on Normandie Avenue — one of nearly 50 courses the space offers to seniors since its founding in 2013. About 1,500 people participate in the programs each week, according to the center, including learning to trot dance, reading the English newspaper and calligraphy.
The harmonica class began about seven years ago and has been practicing The Star-Spangled Banner since 2021. They play other tunes too — in case you were wondering — such as Mother's Grace.
The pint-sized instrument has special meaning for those living in the Korean diaspora.
"They know harmonica since in the elementary school in Korea, they're teaching harmonica in second grade," said Yong Shin, the senior center’s chairperson. She added that the instrument's portability allows the group to practice anywhere.
Shin said the class has been performing at local events for years, including on Mother's Day, over Christmas, or during the Lunar New Year.
Their big break came in 2023, when the group performed the national anthem at City Hall for a Los Angeles City Council meeting. The rendition was met with a standing ovation from the council members and the more than 100 people in attendance.
The love gave the center's executive director, Kwanil Park, the confidence to pitch a performance for a Kings game.
Their hockey debut was March 23, 2025, as part of the club's K-Town Night.
"What started as a unique performance during our Koreatown Theme Night — where fans spontaneously began singing along — quickly became one of our most memorable moments of the season. When it came time to select anthem performers for the playoffs, the choice was easy," said Sean Tabler, vice president of production and entertainment with the L.A. Kings, in a statement to LAist.
Performing in front of a stadium full of people might be intimidating to most people, but Shin said not so much for the seasoned crew.
"I think they are kind of a little nervous, but [they've been] practicing so many times," Shin said. "I asked them. They said, 'No, we are fine. We could do, you know, like closing eyes.'"
So no more Kings performances until hopefully next season. But after going viral, Shin said offers to perform have poured in. She can't say where and when just yet — but keep your eyes, and ears, tuned for that down-home sound.
The Kings are organizing fundraising campaign for the Koreatown Senior and Community Center. All money will go directly to the outfit. You can donate here.
Topline:
After months of calls for a town hall, East Los Angeles residents will hear from county representatives about recovery efforts and next steps at the first public update since a May spill released 25,000 gallons of crude oil onto streets and the L.A. River.
When is it? The informational session will take place this Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon at the City Terrace Park Social Hall. County agencies and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is directing the oil spill cleanup, will present findings from a report submitted by the pipeline operator in August.
Why now: The meeting comes after a July request from L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis to Public Works, and after residents have demanded information on the scope of the spill, public health guidance and cleanup updates. At an Oct. 6 Maravilla Community Advisory Committee meeting, residents shared frustrations about the recent environmental disasters affecting East L.A., including the oil spill and the Lineage warehouse fire. One attendee asked why her child’s school wasn’t evacuated on the day of the spill and had questions regarding the county’s response.
Read on... for more on Saturday's informational session.
This story first appeared on The LA Local.
After months of calls for a town hall, East Los Angeles residents will hear from county representatives about recovery efforts and next steps at the first public update since a May spill released 25,000 gallons of crude oil onto streets and the L.A. River.
The informational session will take place this Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the City Terrace Park Social Hall. County agencies and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, which is directing the oil spill cleanup, will present findings from a report submitted by the pipeline operator in August.
The session will also showcase informational displays and maps, cleanup and recovery updates, environmental monitoring information, a Q&A with agency representatives and resources for residents and businesses.
The meeting comes after a July request from L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis to Public Works, and after residents have demanded information on the scope of the spill, public health guidance and cleanup updates.
At an Oct. 6 Maravilla Community Advisory Committee meeting, residents shared frustrations about the recent environmental disasters affecting East L.A., including the oil spill and the Lineage warehouse fire. One attendee asked why her child’s school wasn’t evacuated on the day of the spill and had questions regarding the county’s response.
“Why didn’t our supervisor host a press conference when it happened?” she asked. “Who is representing us? Why? Why does this always happen here in East L.A.?”
The sentiment was shared by MCAC President Kristie Hernandez, who said at the meeting, “This is the largest oil spill in recent history here in this Los Angeles area… Because there has been a lack of communication of the seriousness of this matter, we are led to believe that it’s just another day in East Los Angeles and that is not okay.”
In August, pipeline operator Pacific Pipeline System LLC submitted a 900-page report that outlines the results of extensive soil testing. The report also includes the results of environmental tests requested by Plains All American, which has owned Pacific Pipeline System since 2006.
At the MCAC meeting, Jeremy Barela of the Regional Water Quality Control Board explained that the board is currently reviewing the report’s findings and is preparing a letter to PPS and surrounding cities outlining what further testing needs to be done before a full remediation plan can be created. Residents can track updates on the project here.
The report has identified contaminants including gas and diesel-related petroleum as well as benzene and ethylene, aromatic hydrocarbons, according to Barela.
The contaminants spread into the soil, and while it is understood how deep they went, further testing is needed to determine how far they spread vertically.
“We know how deep that contamination went but further vertical delineation is needed… so we’re going to be requesting further assessment in that sense,” Barela said.
The letter is expected to be sent in October or November, Barela said.
After the letter is submitted, the board will also publish a fact sheet for residents that outlines the work that has been done and what the next steps will be.
Presentations on the oil spill report findings and next steps will be shown at 9 a.m., 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. County agencies and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board will be available to answer residents’ questions.
Spanish-language materials and interpretation will be available, and light snacks will be provided.
When: Saturday, Oct. 24, from 9 a.m. to noon
Where: City Terrace Park Social Hall, 1126 N. Hazard Ave.
Topline:
A local nonprofit is using ghouls and ghosts to help people understand complicated ballot propositions.
More details: What if the scariest thing to happen this Halloween is…not preparing for the upcoming midterm election? To combat any jump scares around local ballot measures, Khmer Girls in Action and We Are California are teaming up to host a Party to the Polls: Haunted Mansion on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 6 p.m.
The backstory: “We are combining political education and the Halloween spirit because, you know, elections are scary sometimes,” said Kelliana Lim, Communications Coordinator for Khmer Girls in Action. KGA, a youth-led community nonprofit in Long Beach, has hosted a haunted house/maze event every election season since 2010.
Read on... for more on the youth-led spooky election event.
This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.
What if the scariest thing to happen this Halloween is…not preparing for the upcoming midterm election?
To combat any jump scares around local ballot measures, Khmer Girls in Action and We Are California are teaming up to host a Party to the Polls: Haunted Mansion on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 2 to 6 p.m.
“We are combining political education and the Halloween spirit because, you know, elections are scary sometimes,” said Kelliana Lim, Communications Coordinator for Khmer Girls in Action. KGA, a youth-led community nonprofit in Long Beach, has hosted a haunted house/maze event every election season since 2010.
Student members and KGA staffers select ballot measures they feel affect their community the most and create an immersive haunted house based on those issues. The goal, Lim said, is to provide a fun way for community members to better understand what is going on this election season.
“The haunted maze really showcases a really fun ‘educ-tainment’ type of event for the community to understand how certain ballot measures will impact them and young people,” Lim said.
This year, KGA honed their haunted house on three ballot measures: Proposition 3, which would tax top earners in the state to fund healthcare and education. Proposition 39, which would require California voters to present government-issued identification when voting at the polls. And Proposition 43, which would change the state’s constitution to require local ballot measures related to extending, increasing or proposing specific taxes driven by citizens to receive a two-thirds vote.
Saturday’s haunted house will feature a spooky maze of rooms visitors will trek through as they are greeted by ghosts and goblins who will foreshadow what kind of impact these ballot measures could have on their community.
This year, KGA is partnering with We Are California, a coalition of advocacy groups across the state, to host a ballot party during the haunted house. Visitors are encouraged to bring their ballot to the haunt, and on a separate floor from the ghouls and goblins, they can get their questions answered.
Aaron Robertson, a Senior Director of Coalition for Catalyst California — the nonprofit, civil rights organization behind We Are California, said their group provides toolkits and other resources to KGA and other groups across the state hosting ballot parties.
“One of the cool things about this campaign is that it is very distributed,” Robertson said. “We’ve been providing resources and toolkits for about 500 ballot parties across the state.” But Robertson said organizations like KGA really take the lead on what these ballot education events look and feel like. Some groups did a 5K run to the polls; others did dance parties and lucha libre events.
We Are California also provides legal trainers who teach community members to become vote protectors on Election Day. Vote protectors identify any intimidation efforts at polling sites.
“We have a centralized reporting mechanism where we are gathering that information and working with the A.G.’s office to triage a response,” Robertson said. Last week, KGA, along with Long Beach Forward, trained community volunteers who signed up to be vote protectors.
“Some people really want to show up for their community and [becoming a vote protector] is a way to do that — they want to go to places that are most at risk for voter intimidation,” Robertson said.
Beyond ballot education, Saturday’s haunted house will also have a trunk-or-treat in the Youth Movement Education Center parking lot. There will also be face painting, a donut-eating contest, a costume contest, music and a party area in case some people “are too scared to go inside,” Lim said.
To learn more about Khmer Girls in Action and their haunted house event on Saturday, Oct. 25, visit their website.
Topline:
Proponents say Prop. 2 would allow the state to shore up its reserves for an economic downturn. Critics say it would only allow state leaders to spend more in the future.
AI revenue: Because California’s tax revenue depends so much on wealthy residents’ stock earnings, the state budget is often caught in a boom-or-bust cycle at the mercy of the market. In recent years, the state has seen robust tax revenue from an AI-fueled economy, which has helped state leaders avoid or delay painful cuts to social services even when they projected significant deficits. But economists have consistently warned the boom may not last, and the federal budget cuts to healthcare and welfare programs this year deepened that uncertainty.
How long have we had a rainy day fund? Before 2014, California leaders and voters established reserve funds several times to weather financial storms, but ended up quickly withdrawing most of those funds, leaving the state with very little savings on hand, according to the legislative analyst.
Read on... for more on Prop. 2.
The question Proposition 2 poses to California voters is simple: Should the state be able to save more money when its economy is booming?
The ballot measure, dubbed the Save for California’s Future Act, seeks to shore up California’s rainy day fund by allowing state lawmakers to sock away up to 20% of the state’s general fund tax revenue — double the current ceiling of 10%.
It would also require the state to save a bigger share of the gains when revenue is growing faster.
Proponents, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers, say the state needs a bigger savings account to weather its volatile economy.
Because California’s tax revenue depends so much on wealthy residents’ stock earnings, the state budget is often caught in a boom-or-bust cycle at the mercy of the market. In recent years, the state has seen robust tax revenue from an AI-fueled economy, which has helped state leaders avoid or delay painful cuts to social services even when they projected significant deficits. But economists have consistently warned the boom may not last, and the federal budget cuts to healthcare and welfare programs this year deepened that uncertainty.
Supporters pitched Prop. 2 as a common sense solution, noting the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises state lawmakers, has long recommended the state set aside funding for downturns. The measure is endorsed by a bipartisan coalition of groups, including labor unions, hospital associations and chambers of commerce.
“It doubles the size of the state’s rainy day fund and requires California to save more during strong budget years, so we’re not caught flat-footed when the next downturn hits,” wrote Assembly Budget Chair Jesse Gabriel, an Encino Democrat, and Assembly Appropriations Vice Chair Josh Hoover, a Folsom Republican and the only GOP lawmaker to vote for the measure.
Most Republican lawmakers opposed Prop. 2, stating that the state should use its excess revenue to give taxpayers refunds instead of saving it. They argue that state government already spends too much and that a bigger reserve would merely give state leaders more to spend.
“When they say we're here for fiscal responsibility, it's like the devil offering a Bible study. Don't buy it,” said Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a San Diego Republican.
Before 2014, California leaders and voters established reserve funds several times to weather financial storms, but ended up quickly withdrawing most of those funds, leaving the state with very little savings on hand, according to the legislative analyst.
In 2004, following the dot-com bust, voters overwhelmingly supported Prop. 58, a bipartisan ballot measure that required the state to establish a budget stabilization account and make annual deposits into the fund.
But lawmakers swiftly depleted the fund during the early months of the Great Recession and were forced to make steep spending cuts, borrow money at expensive rates and use accounting gimmicks to weather the rest of the crisis. Under then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, the state Legislature slashed health and welfare funding, scrapped tax credits, furloughed state employees and delayed payments to schools and local governments.
In 2014, as the state’s economy rebounded, then-Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat, urged that the state save more. He and the Legislature championed Prop. 2, a bipartisan ballot measure that required the state to save more aggressively and limited when lawmakers could withdraw from the reserves. Nearly 70% of voters approved it.
“When the pendulum swings again, we won’t be forced to raise taxes or make the kinds of harsh cuts that were all too common in recent years,” Brown said in a 2014 op-ed stumping for the reform.
The law requires the state to set aside 1.5% of its general fund revenue and any spikes in capital gains tax revenue each year, with half deposited into the reserves and the other half to pay down state debts. It also made it harder for the state to spend the reserves and carved out portions of the savings for schools.
Under the law, state lawmakers can withdraw from the reserves only when the governor declares a budget emergency and decides that the state is not expected to collect enough revenue in the upcoming fiscal year to match the spending in the three previous budget years.
A majority of state lawmakers must vote to ratify the budget emergency. If approved, they are allowed to withdraw up to half of the rainy day fund balance at once, unless they already withdrew half the balance in the previous budget year and still need to take out more. There are no limits on what lawmakers can use the funds for.
Prop. 2 would maintain those withdrawal rules, which critics say would give future governors broad authority to spend down the reserves instead of reining in spending.
“The rainy day fund can be invaded even when it’s not raining, simply because spending isn’t as high as it was within the prior three years,” wrote David Crane, a former economic adviser to Schwarzenegger and founder of Govern for California, a nonprofit fundraising powerhouse that aims to “counter special interest influence.”
“Unless the withdrawal rules change, a larger reserve just lets governors bake in spending based on optimistic forecasts, knowing they can always dip into reserves if revenue falls short.”
In an interview with CalMatters, Gabriel stressed that voters approved those rules in 2014 and emphasized that the measure has bipartisan support. He also dismissed the criticism that the state should just spend less during downturns, likening it to telling families to eat less or downsize instead of dipping into their savings when they fall on hard times.
“I think (the concern) is very misplaced,” he said. “(Prop. 2) is recommended by the experts, because it matches the common-sense wisdom of California families.”
This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.
Topline:
Inglewood city leaders broke ground on a new shuttle bus network, planting ceremonial brass shovels in the dirt outside a Market Street shopping center on Wednesday morning. They took turns at a microphone praising the $287.5 million Inglewood Transit Connector, which will ferry visitors between the Downtown Inglewood Metro K Line Station and the city’s stadium district. Officials hope the project will jump-start the struggling Market Street shopping corridor.
Why now: Inglewood has transformed into a global entertainment magnet over the last decade, pulling in Super Bowls, World Cup matches and megastar musicians. Locals, though, have protested the costs of the rapid development — traffic jams, rising living costs, old haunts demolished — and asked for more ways to tap into the economic benefits. City officials say the shuttle bus network will help with some of those issues by alleviating traffic jams and driving visitors to spend their dollars at local businesses. Not everyone is convinced.
What's next: Actual construction is set to start in the first week of November, planners say, and the first buses are scheduled to roll out down dedicated lanes just ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
Inglewood city leaders broke ground on a new shuttle bus network, planting ceremonial brass shovels in the dirt outside a Market Street shopping center on Wednesday morning.
They took turns at a microphone praising the $287.5 million Inglewood Transit Connector, which will ferry visitors between the Downtown Inglewood Metro K Line Station and the city’s stadium district. Officials hope the project will jump-start the struggling Market Street shopping corridor.
“We always said that we were going to make Inglewood the city to drive to and not through, and we’re doing that today,” Councilmember Alex Padilla said.
Inglewood has transformed into a global entertainment magnet over the last decade, pulling in Super Bowls, World Cup matches and megastar musicians. Locals, though, have protested the costs of the rapid development — traffic jams, rising living costs, old haunts demolished — and asked for more ways to tap into the economic benefits.
City officials say the shuttle bus network will help with some of those issues by alleviating traffic jams and driving visitors to spend their dollars at local businesses. Not everyone is convinced.
Just a few hundred yards from the ceremony, Amelia Hernandez and her team were packing boxes at Selwyn Jewelers, one of the two dozen businesses at the corner of Market Street and Florence Avenue the city took over through eminent domain earlier this year. The city plans to demolish the shopping center to make way for a 1,000-space parking garage, a bus plaza and a pedestrian bridge crossing Florence to the Downtown Inglewood K Line station.
The jeweler said she’s skeptical the new shuttle system will actually mean more business for local shops, especially those like hers that are more targeted to residents than visitors.
“Everybody comes, parks and leaves,” she said. “What do they expect? [Stadium visitors] are going to the notary public? They’re going to a hair salon?”
Wednesday’s ceremony capped nearly a decade of planning for the Inglewood Transit Connector. City officials first pitched it as a $2 billion automated rail line, but pared down their plans to a shuttle bus system after federal funding hit a wall.
Actual construction is set to start in the first week of November, planners say, and the first buses are scheduled to roll out down dedicated lanes just ahead of the 2028 Olympics. City officials say they hope to bring back automated rail line plans in the future.
Mayor James Butts said the shuttles are only planned to run on event days — Inglewood’s three major venues have hundreds of events between them — and that the city hasn’t yet picked a vendor to run the actual shuttles. The mayor said the city expects to move 10,000 people through the hub on event days.
Eli Lipmen, executive director of the nonprofit Move LA, is one of the transportation activists pushing for the region to tighten up its transportation network ahead of the Olympics. He said that while the city still has a lot of work to do, he is excited to see the shuttle system roll out to provide an alternative to vehicle traffic.
“This station, this area, has needed a transit hub for a very long time,” he said.
A few shops were still open in the shopping center on Wednesday, but most of the windows were dark or papered over.
Project planners said the city has found new spots for half of the two dozen businesses displaced from the bulldozed shopping center and that it is also working with the hair stylists that rent chairs at salons in the center.
Businesses like Red’s Flavor Table and Randy’s Donuts & Chinese Food will be relocating to new digs on Market Street, according to project planners. CVS Pharmacy opened a new store across the street. Selwyn Jewelers is moving to a space a few blocks away.
Hernandez, the owner of Selwyn Jewelers, said the relocation process has been horrific and was poorly planned.
“I’m just left with a whole bunch of ill feelings,” she said.
Other business owners praised the city’s work in a series of short videos.
“Although we are sad to be leaving our current location, we’re happy to continue to stay in Inglewood,” said Sylvia Hollins, manager of Red’s Flavor Table. “We’re going to be on Market Street at a bigger and better location.”
The post Inglewood breaks ground on a new $287.5M stadium shuttle network appeared first on LA Local.
