Topline:
The phenomenal rise of pickleball has sparked an ongoing turf war with its racket sport elder, tennis. The latest battleground is in Hermon.
Why now: Tennis diehards are up in arms over a plan from the city's Department of Recreation and Parks to convert one tennis court into four pickleball courts.
What's next: A community meeting will be held Wednesday, April 9, in Highland Park.
Keep reading... to find out what tennis community and the pickleball community want the city to do.
Real estate is always at a premium in L.A. That reality extends to how — and where — Angelenos play and recreate. With the phenomenal rise of pickleball, that has meant an ongoing turf war with its racket sport elder, tennis.
The latest battleground is in Hermon. Specifically, Hermon Park, which abuts Highland Park and Monterey Hills. The multi-acre community green space offers a playground, picnic tables, barbecue grills and a dog park. In addition, 11 free tennis courts — the majority of which are first-come, first-served.
"You can just come at any point and just play," said Alex Haug, a tennis coach who was working with a client on a recent morning. "In L.A. that is a rarity."
For that and other reasons, tennis diehards are up in arms over a plan from the city's Department of Recreation and Parks to convert one tennis court into four pickleball courts. A community meeting will be held Wednesday in Highland Park. Ahead of the meeting, the department has released a survey taking feedback from the two contingents.
Both sides are planning to turn out in support of their sport.
While Hermon Park is the latest flashpoint, its courts aren't the first — and won't be the last — to get caught in this tug-of-war.
Cynthia Su, a freelance film worker who started playing tennis a few years ago, quickly became an avid player. Su can be found many days and nights practicing her serve solo or with her coach at the Hermon courts. She is part of a WhatsApp group whose members wake up at 4:30 a.m. to get a court.
" I considered Hermon my home court," said Su, given its proximity to her home in Eagle Rock. Like many players, Su also clocks time at other courts in L.A., like in Griffith Park — which was where her activism to keep tennis courts for tennis began.
In late 2023, Su met a guy who was starting a petition to stop the conversion of a tennis court at Griffith-Riverside into six pickleball courts, which would entail demolishing the spectator bleachers — a feature that Su said is rare among public courts.
"As soon as he told me about that, I got right on it," Su said. She started getting the word out about the petition and calling relevant city departments. The next year, something similar happened in Echo Park, and she was recruited to help.
"I decided [that] this is gonna keep happening and... I would love to just organize the greater tennis community in Los Angeles because it really affects us all when we lose courts," Su said. "When there's overflow at one court, you kind of migrate to another court. So you're always just looking for vacancy and availability somewhere else."
As such, she started a digital petition to keep the tennis community informed. Su has also been flyering in Hermon Park to raise awareness about Wednesday's community meeting.
As it happens, pickleball players say they run into the exact same issue of long wait times and a dearth of courts.
Tim Cruz lives in Los Feliz and has been playing pickleball for years. He said he's had to court hop between Glendale, West Hollywood, Pasadena and Burbank because "it's hard to get a good court rotation."
In Glendale where there are four pickleball courts, for example, the wait on a weekend can push up to an hour and a half. On the sidelines, he says there are easily some 30 players waiting for their turn.
"The thing with pickleball that's really unique is that you end up talking with strangers and your friend list suddenly grows," said Cruz, who works in the film industry, adding that he sold one of his films to an executive while both were waiting to play.
Most pickleball courts, Cruz said, are carved from public tennis courts. Some are temporary, like in Glendale and West Hollywood, meaning there are lines for both sports on the floor. It can make for a dizzying experience.
"Don't get me started about indoor pickleball, because you've got basketball lines, you've got badminton lines, you've got, oh my God, pickleball lines," Cruz said.
The filmmaker said the appeal of pickleball is undeniable. The sport with the funny name saw its popularity supercharged during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will likely never slow down.
"But here is the issue, right? It's that most of the time, the tennis courts are empty," Cruz said. "Then you just pan over to the pickleball courts and there's just like tons of people waiting. Why? Because the barrier of entry in pickleball versus tennis is vastly different."
In the case of Hermon Park, Team Tennis says demand for tennis court remains high.
"There's usually long wait times for tennis courts," said Haug, the tennis coach who works out of Hermon almost daily. "The idea that some of them would be changed into a different sport is kind of upsetting."
One thing that both camps want is their own dedicated facilities — where tennis is tennis, and pickleball is pickleball.
Juan Aynat supervises recreation in the city of L.A.'s San Fernando Valley region. He also chairs a pickleball committee to meet growing demand.
"They want brand new courts. They want access in the morning and at night. They want to play indoors, they want to play outdoors," Aynat said.
At first, the strategy was to have both sports share the same court, what he called a "hybrid" model. But now, the department is moving toward creating dedicated pickleball courts — done by replacing existing tennis courts. About 20 of those now exist — among some 60 courts that are free of charge provided by the city, Aynat said.
The dream, he added, is to build standalone facilities for pickleball, so that no tennis courts would be displaced. Last summer, four of those debuted in Porter Ranch.
" We are definitely headed in the direction of just doing dedicated facilities," he said.
Until more of those can come online, Aynat preaches patience and peace.
" We have heard the voices of the tennis community," he said. But "we have way more tennis courts, obviously."
One reason why the department has chosen Hermon Park for the latest conversion is because of a lack of access in the vicinity.
"In that L.A. area, we've been getting a lot of responses from the community as to why there's no pickleball," he said, adding that there are only two courts at the nearby Montecito Heights Recreation Center. "That is one of our hotspots that we need to increase some access for them."
The original plan was to replace two tennis courts for eight pickleball courts. But it was scrapped due to concerns for the area's tennis community.
Which probably isn’t much solace to Hermon Park regulars like Su.
The tennis fanatic said a couple years ago when she was circulating the petition at another court, she got talking to another player.
"He said to me, it's a different sport, get a different court, you know," she said. " I'm not fundamentally against pickleball. I just wish it didn't have to come at the expense of an existing sport that already means so much to so many people."
Date: Wednesday, April 9
Time: 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Highland Park Senior Center at 6152 N. Figueroa St., Los Angeles
Topline:
The new Apple TV series, based on the acclaimed novel of the same name by Rufi Thorpe — and starring Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer — puts a spotlight on the Orange County city of Fullerton, where it's set and was filmed.
What the author says: Thorpe is from Orange County and in an interview with LAist last year said that setting Margo’s Got Money Troubles in Fullerton was her “little authorly gift” to the character of Margo, who has a baby at the age of 19 and turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet: “Yes, it was going to be terrifying and hard and she wasn’t going to know if she was going to get through it, but she was going to do it in Fullerton, dammit.”
The real locations: Some of the locations featured in the show include Fullerton College, beloved local restaurants like Rutabegorz and Angelo's and Vinci's (now closed sadly), and the pedestrian bridge that leads to the Fullerton train station and reads "Welcome to Downtown Fullerton."
Why it matters: Amid increasing concerns about film and TV production leaving Los Angeles, Margo's Got Money Troubles' writer/producer David E. Kelley has doubled down on keeping production work local.
Margo's Got Money Troubles was also a recipient of a state film and TV tax credit. A recent report from FilmLA has sparked hope that California's expansion of its film and TV tax incentive program last year may be starting to have positive effects.
Read on ... for more about the Fullerton locations featured in the series.
Why is the new Apple TV series Margo’s Got Money Troubles — which stars Elle Fanning, Michelle Pfeiffer, Nick Offerman and Nicole Kidman — set in the Orange County city of Fullerton?
Author Rufi Thorpe, who wrote the book the series is based on and is an executive producer on the show, is from Orange County and has set some of her earlier books in smaller Southern California locales too — in Corona del Mar (where Thorpe grew up) and a fictional Southern California beach city inspired by El Segundo.
In an interview with LAist last year, Thorpe said that setting Margo’s Got Money Troubles in Fullerton was her “little authorly gift” to the character of Margo, who has a baby at the age of 19 and turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.
Thorpe said she grew up visiting a friend of her mom’s, a classical pianist, in Fullerton, so she had a sense of the city’s low-key vibe: “It’s a very cute city, and [there’s] just so many dentists and tax preparation offices — just so many!”
And it felt like a nice place to put her main character, who she was going to be putting through a lot: “Yes, it was going to be terrifying and hard and she wasn’t going to know if she was going to get through it, but she was going to do it in Fullerton, dammit.”
That the show was also filmed in Fullerton (and Los Angeles too) was thanks in part to writer/producer David E. Kelley’s commitment to keeping production work local, and the fact that the series received a state film and TV tax credit. (Fullerton locations have also been used for other movies and TV shows.)
It maybe also didn’t hurt that Kelley’s wife, Michelle Pfeiffer, is from Orange County herself, which Pfeiffer told the Television Academy’s emmy magazine was part of the reason why she connected so much with the book, and signed on along with Kelley, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman and others to executive produce the series.
The scenes that were shot on location at Fullerton College, where Margo is a freshman and has an affair with her English professor, didn’t just add to the show’s sense of place. The community college’s newspaper The Hornet reports that the fees for filming at the college also helped fund a scholarship program.
The popular Fullerton cafe Rutabegorz isn’t specifically named in the book or show, but it’s well known in Orange County (with another location in Orange), and is the setting of a pivotal scene between Margo and her mom Shyanne, played by Pfeiffer.
A little bit of Rutabegorz history (from this author, who went to high school in Fullerton!): Before it became a coffeehouse in the 1970s, and later a full restaurant, for 48 years it was the office and residence of a doctor, who — according to a sign in the restaurant about the building’s history — was the first to administer the antibiotic medication penicillin to a patient in Southern California.
Today, Rutabegorz is known for its quirky decorations, healthy food options (including very big salads) and long-running $1 chip and dip special.
The Fox Theatre in Fullerton dates back to 1925 and is one of the city’s most recognizable buildings, but it hasn’t been an operational theater since 1987, when it closed and fell into disrepair. The Fullerton Historic Theatre Foundation, which is leading the ongoing restoration effort, does hold some special events there, including the 100th birthday celebration for the theater in May of 2025.
Next door to The Fox Theatre is another beloved, but also now closed, Fullerton institution — the Italian restaurant Angelo’s and Vinci’s. The site of many a special occasion meal for locals, with ornate decorations (and a monster-themed wine cellar) the restaurant closed in 2023 after a 52-year-long run.
In the series, Margo is a waitress at Angelo’s and Vinci’s and has her baby shower there. And for anyone who remembers going to the restaurant, it’s nice to see the space alive again in the show.
Other Fullerton locations in the series include the Fullerton Car Wash (across from the British pub The Olde Ship) and the Fullerton Lodge Motel, which locals will recognize as being next to the popular B&B Donuts and across from Costco.
Fullerton is only one stop (and about a 30 minute ride) away from L.A.’s Union Station on Amtrak or Metrolink. Here are some other spots to check out if you’re making a day trip:
New episodes of 'Margo's Got Money Troubles' are available to stream on Apple TV on Wednesdays. The final two episodes air May 13 and 20.
In this edition:
Clockshop’s annual Kite Festival, UCLA hosts work about the fires, a kids' book fair at the Japanese American National Museum and more of the best things to do this weekend.
Highlights:
Happy Mother’s Day, and happy opening of the D Line extension to all who celebrate!
This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting a group of artists in Venice who are creating installations that are open 24/7 right on the boardwalk, and doing free pop-up opera and other performances at night all summer long. Being a Venice local, it’s been so fun to see these projects come in along an otherwise pretty quiet stretch of Ocean Front Walk — take a stroll there this summer and you never know what or who you might see.
Licorice Pizza has your weekend music picks. On Friday, Muna begins their two-night run at Shrine Expo Hall, and Wu Lyf plays the first of two nights at the Lodge Room. Plus, Snow Tha Product is at The Novo, Fishbone plays the Teragram, and Netflix Is a Joke has two music-focused events: Beautifully Broken Comedy with Jelly Roll at the Greek, and A Visit From ‘Portlandia’ with Fred & Carrie at the Ford. The dream of the '90s is alive! Saturday, the Netflix fun continues with two nights of Flight of the Conchords at the Greek; on Sunday, Rodrigo y Gabriela are at the YouTube Theater and Norah Jones is at Pacific Electric.
Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about a local benchmaker who includes the L.A. logo in his work, meet the brand-new eaglets Sandy and Luna and keep track of the more than 100 free World Cup watch parties coming up.
Saturday, May 9, 1 p.m.
Tongva Park
1615 Ocean Ave., Santa Monica
COST: FROM $86.90; MORE INFO
Last weekend, I strolled down to the free jazz shows on Third Street Promenade and was happy to see so many folks out for the music. This week, the fest continues with its marquee events, including Kamasi Washington (the festival’s organizer), jazz legend Stanley Washington (with Stewart Copeland of The Police) and many more greats taking the stage at Santa Monica’s Tongva Park.
Through Sunday, May 17
910 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Check out dozens of artworks from established, mid-career, and emerging artists — and maybe even snap one up — at the annual Venice Art Walk, benefiting the Venice Family Clinic. This year’s Signature Artist is L.A. artist Alison Saar; the gallery and the online auction are free to peruse and open to the public all week long.
Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10
Cooper Design Space
860 S. Los Angeles St., Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $11.54; MORE INFO
Bring mom to pick out her own perfect gift at this spring’s Unique Markets at the Cooper Design Space penthouse. The Unique Market has a knack for finding brands that go on to become L.A. cool-kid household names, like Hedley & Bennett, P.F. Candle Co., CoolHaus, Poke'To and more. There are also free drinks, a free DIY charm-making station and a photo booth with free Polaroid prints.
Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Japanese American National Museum
100 N. Central Ave., Little Tokyo
COST: $10 ADULTS, KIDS FREE; MORE INFO
The second annual Nikkei Children’s Book Festival brings children’s book authors and illustrators to the Japanese American National Museum for a fun day celebrating the love of reading. In the morning, there’s a special reading of Ken Mochizuki’s Baseball Saved Us (9:30 a.m.), plus a session with Maggie Tokuda Hall, the author of Love in the Library and a national leader of Authors Against Book Bans. An afternoon session (1 p.m.) features Korey Watari, the author of Kimi the Ballerina, and Mike Wu, a Pixar artist and the illustrator of Kimi the Ballerina. Many more authors and illustrators will be on hand, plus there will be arts and crafts, signings, a pop-up book store and more.
Friday, May 8, 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Herb Alpert School of Music
Lani Hall Theater
445 Charles E. Young Drive East, Westwood
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
I don’t think there’s a better place you could spend Friday afternoon and evening than at UCLA, exploring a new collection of interactive exhibits and music created by artists impacted by last year’s Palisades and Eaton fires. From a custom Fender Stratocaster crafted for San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity from trees that were damaged around the Eaton Fire to listening and viewing stations for works from local artists, including the L.A. Field Recording Club, there are all kinds of ways to explore how the community has responded and processed grief and resilience over the past year. A panel conversation features Chris Douridas (KCRW), Jessica Schwartz (UCLA Musicology), Liz Koslov (UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability) and Kim Yu (Altadena Town Council, Caltech), followed by a closing concert with works from UCLA students and faculty, including the Herbie Hancock Institute Band and the Los Angeles premiere of Will Rand’s Firebirth with violinist Grace Alexander.
Through Sunday, May 10
Printed Matter
ArtCenter College of Design, South Campus
960 S. Raymond Ave., Pasadena
COST: $8, FREE ON SUNDAY; MORE INFO
So much more than just a collection of art books, the annual L.A. Art Book Fair is organized by Printed Matter and features a whole weekend of DJs, live music and exhibitions. This year’s projects include an archival show of newspapers by Chicano in Print; a curated selection of Ed Ruscha's expansive Sunset Strip project by The Getty Research Institute; artifacts of pre-Y2K Asian girlhood from the '90s band Emily’s Sassy Lime (E.S.L.), organized by Ooga Booga; and a site-specific billboard project by Werkplaats Typografie that evolves over the course of the fair.
Through Sunday, May 17
Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West L.A.
COST: $38, MORE INFO
If you saw Hannah Gadsby’s stand-up special Nanette, perhaps you also will never be able to read Picasso’s name without whispering Pablo Pic-asshole to yourself. It’s no secret that Picasso, like many brilliant artists, had a dark side, and this new play, coming to the Odyssey straight from London, explores just that. British actor Peter Tate and Olivier Award-winning director Guy Masterson bring their production here for just two weeks.
Saturday, May 9, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
L.A. State Historic Park
1245 N. Spring St., Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Let’s go fly a kite! Clockshop’s free annual Kite Festival takes over the L.A. State Historic Park, giving you a chance to enter your homemade kite into a competition, check out artist-commissioned kites and an inflatable sculpture, and, of course, participate in a free kite-making workshop.
Topline:
The fundraiser led by environmental organizations to buy land in Big Bear Valley to prevent construction of a planned housing project not far from the famous bald eagle nest for Jackie and Shadow is about halfway over but has so far raised roughly a quarter of its $10 million goal.
The backstory: Friends of Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust are trying to raise the money by the end of July to purchase more than 62 acres of land pegged for Moon Camp.
Why it matters: Some people say the project, slated to include 50 lots for custom homes and a marina with 55 boat slips, would harm rare plants and wildlife in the area. That includes the famous bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, and their young eaglets Sandy and Luna, who nest less than a mile away.
Why now: The “Save Moon Camp” fundraiser, which officials have said is the most ambitious effort in Friends of Big Bear Valley history, has raised more than $2.5 million as of Wednesday.
What's next: If the groups don’t raise $10 million by July 31, Friends of Big Bear Valley has a backup plan.
Go deeper: Environmental groups launch $10M fundraiser to buy land near Big Bear’s famous bald eagle nest
The fundraiser led by environmental organizations to buy land in Big Bear Valley to prevent construction of a planned housing project not far from Jackie and Shadow's famous bald eagle nest is about halfway over but has so far raised roughly a quarter of its $10 million goal.
Friends of Big Bear Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust are trying to raise the money by the end of July to purchase more than 62 acres of land pegged for Moon Camp.
Some people say the project, slated to include 50 lots for custom homes and a marina with 55 boat slips, would harm rare plants and wildlife in the area. That includes the resident bald eagles, Jackie and Shadow, and their young eaglets Sandy and Luna, who nest less than a mile away.
The organizations instead want the land to be placed under a permanent conservatorship.
The “Save Moon Camp” fundraiser, which officials have said is the most ambitious effort in Friends of Big Bear Valley history, has raised more than $2.5 million as of Wednesday.
Jenny Voisard, the nonprofit’s media manager, told LAist that the money has mostly come through small donations from thousands of loyal fans around the world.
She said Friends of Big Bear Valley is “deeply grateful” for the love and support the community has shown since the fundraiser launched in February. She described the donations as an “investment in conservation and humanity.”
“What happens with California's biodiversity is important to every one of us on this planet, and you are all helping to take care of that,” Voisard said. “Biodiversity is responsible for the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and the medicine we take. And you're all heroes.”
Voisard said she’s been struck and brought to tears by how personal the fundraiser has become to people.
Some fans have been donating monthly, every payday or with their morning latte money. Others have been writing letters to news outlets, institutions, government officials and “anybody that will listen,” she said.
Friends of Big Bear Valley’s eagle livestream has become a popular fixture in classrooms, and a few elementary schools have organized their own fundraisers to support “Save Moon Camp.”
A third grade class at Wildwood Elementary in Yucaipa, for example, pooled together $373 for the fundraiser, Voisard said. Another elementary school in Connecticut sent a little more than $970.
“This is our next generation of environmental caretakers and stewards, and so that's why this is so important,” she said. “We need to raise the money, and it's not about the amounts. It's that they believe in what we're doing and that it's worth saving.”
Larger gifts have also been rolling in.
There have been a few $50,000 donations, an anonymous donation of $77,000 and a $20,000 gift sent along with a handwritten letter. Voisard said Friends of Big Bear Valley is actively reaching out to philanthropists and tribal councils to garner their support as well.
You can learn more about the fundraiser and track its progress at SaveMoonCamp.org.
If the groups don’t raise $10 million by July 31, Friends of Big Bear Valley has a backup plan.
Voisard said there’s a financing option that would allow the groups to purchase the land — but with quarterly payments and a high interest rate. She acknowledged that would be “difficult” and require longer-term fundraising, but it’s an option.
The eventual goal is to have the acres be protected under the U.S. Forest Service, but some people have expressed concerns about the state of the agency under President Donald Trump.
The Trump administration has recently taken steps toward a sweeping agency overhaul, including moving the headquarters out of Washington, D.C., and closing research facilities in 31 states, including California. The Forest Service lost more than 5,800 employees last year, or about 16% of its workforce, amid Trump’s push to cut federal spending, according to the New York Times.
But the land transfer process would take years, and Voisard said a different administration would be in charge by then.
“This land will also have special protected status, so that we don't go through all of this for nothing,” she said.
The San Bernardino Mountains Land Trust is no stranger to the preservation process. It has helped conserve more than 15,000 acres of land in the San Bernardino National Forest since it was founded in 1995, according to the organization.
T.J. Fraser moved to Big Bear Valley’s community of Fawnskin about eight years ago to escape city life in Los Angeles. He said he's “100% opposed” to the Moon Camp project for a "myriad of reasons."
The most important factor is protecting the bald eagles and the joy they bring to people, but he said he’s also concerned about development changing the quiet, close-knit community.
“I think part of living here … is that you learn very, very quickly that we adapt to the surroundings,” he said. “We don't expect the forest to adapt to us.”
Fraser said residents’ respect extends to the squirrels, bears and coyotes in Fawnskin, which he described as “our neighbors.” He added that the eagle livestream, which features a picturesque view from the trees towering over Big Bear Lake, may be some viewers' only connection to nature.
“I think that if they were able to look into that screen and extrapolate out into those trees, in the water, and understand that people live there, and the way that we live there is very similar to the way the eagles live in the nest,” he said. “We're all in it together. … No matter where you live, you are a product of nature and the environment.”
Fraser said he sees the fundraiser as helping Jackie and Shadow stay in the area for years but also as a message: There are some things more important than money.
Topline:
Federal agents swarmed MacArthur Park on Wednesday afternoon in a joint operation targeted at suspected drug dealers.
More details: Agents also searched six businesses in the Westlake neighborhood and said that at least 18 people were arrested as part of the investigation, which was called “Operation Free MacArthur Park.”
Why now: The suspects are allegedly tied to distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine out of the park, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Agents also raided a home in Calabasas and found 40 pounds of fentanyl believed to be part of the network of drugs distributed to MacArthur Park, according to authorities.
Read on ... for more on the raid.
The story first appeared on The LA Local.
5:18 p.m. Wednesday, May 6: This story has been updated with additional details.
Federal agents swarmed MacArthur Park on Wednesday afternoon in a joint operation targeted at suspected drug dealers.
Agents also searched six businesses in the Westlake neighborhood and said that at least 18 people were arrested as part of the investigation, which was called “Operation Free MacArthur Park.”
The suspects are allegedly tied to distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine out of the park, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Agents also raided a home in Calabasas and found 40 pounds of fentanyl believed to be part of the network of drugs distributed to MacArthur Park, according to authorities.
Agents in tactical gear and armored vehicles rolled through the neighborhood shortly after 2 p.m., according to images shared over social media, and an agent used a large saw to cut through a metal security door at a business storefront on Alvarado Street, NBC News reported.
The investigation included six businesses in Westlake and a federal indictment names 25 people, with several who have not been found.
The raids began Tuesday evening and are expected to continue, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced during a press conference outside the park.
He was flanked by agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles Police Department. Armored vehicles lined Alvarado Street and more agents in tactical gear stood under the shade of a nearby tree.
“We’re not leaving,” Essayli said. “We’ll come back as many times as we need to.”
The Los Angeles Police Department announced it provided assistance to its federal partners and clarified the investigation was not related to immigration enforcement.
Anthony Chrysanthis, special agent in charge for the DEA’s field office in Los Angeles, reiterated that the federal agency will return to Westlake.
“We will be watching this place every day, all the time. We’ve been gathering evidence for 60 days,” Chrysanthis said. “Privately, we get phone calls every day. ‘What are you doing about this?’ So, if you live in an area where you see drug activity, you can plan a friendly visit from law enforcement.”
Chrysanthis said the operation at the park was chosen because “this place is symbolic to Los Angeles.”
“The communities have to go back to the people. We have to make our city safe again for all people in Los Angeles. So today the message starts,” he said.
Troy Feller, volunteer with the faith-based organization Dream Center, was handing out lunch to people in the park when agents arrived. Feller saw police and agents wearing tactical gear pull up to the park.
“They started wrapping up the area really quickly. We’re out here every week and we have never seen something like this,” Feller said.
By 4:30 p.m. the road closures around the park reopened. A vendor swept up the sidewalk around their stall. Boxes of aspirin, back pain ointment and fake eyelashes spilled onto the sidewalk, along with broken glass.
A hole cut through the metal security door was visible from the sidewalk where an agent used a saw to cut into the vendor’s stall. Boxes of Monistat and Neosporin hung from inside the stall.
Araceli Arrega said she found out about the raid from the news coverage of the federal raid.
“I found out on TV they were cutting up my store. We don’t sell drugs here. I sell creams and medicine,” Arrega said. “They didn’t find anything. I can’t open my store until I fix my door.”
Aura Garcia, who owns Vitamins and Plus next to Arrega’s store, said law enforcement officers went to her daughter’s home and took her into custody. Garcia said officers also handcuffed her 13-year-old granddaughter in the process.
Garcia is still uncertain about whether the arrest is related to the federal operation. Their store was raided Wednesday, but she reiterated that they do not sell drugs.
Susana Cruz, an employee at the market La Bendición de Dios near Alvarado and Sixth said, “They thought that we sold drugs here, but they didn’t find anything.”
Cruz said federal agents raided the market and threw all the products to the floor, which includes creams and other pharmaceutical items. Agents also pulled down a security camera at the market.
Jose Ramirez, a street vendor on Sixth and Alvarado said, watched the aftermath of the raid from the sidewalk.
“I don’t know if this is all for show, but this made people afraid and the businesses that are barely surviving, I don’t know what’s going to happen to them,” he said. “There’s other ways to combat drug trafficking. I don’t know what the mayor is thinking.”
Others in the neighborhood said they support the operation in response to the ongoing drug use at the park.
Victoria Sykes, has lived in the neighborhood for the past five years and has been visiting the area for at least two decades.
“I’ve seen people dealing drugs here on Alvarado and I personally support what happened here today because I think drugs should leave this neighborhood. It’s not safe. We need to clean it up,” Sykes said.
The federal indictment names several people, including Mallaly Moreno-Lopez, 31, and Jackson Tarfur, 28, who are both from the Westmont neighborhood in South Los Angeles. Authorities claim that the couple hand-delivered drugs to storefronts and dealers street-level dealers. Federal documents detail 27 drug deals of fentanyl and methamphetamine from March 9 to April 15 in and around MacArthur Park.
The indictment references multiple street gangs, including 18th Street. Chrysanthis with the DEA said the operation is intended to send a message to the drug traffickers who operate out of the park.
“This is our park. This park belongs to the people of Los Angeles and to anyone who wants to sell drugs, I want them to look around because at any day we can come back and take it,” he said.
When asked why the operation took place now, Chrysanthis said, “FIFA is coming. The Super Bowl is coming. The Olympics are coming. It’s time to give the community back to the people of LA.”
