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
Top line:
If you’re looking a great place to watch the upcoming World Cup on the Westside of L.A. — particularly if you can’t break the bank for a ticket — there’s O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica. The owner sat down with Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk, to discuss sports, authentic Irish cuisine and quality Guinness.
What you'll find at the Irish pub:
1. Most notably, an Irish coffee. The alcoholic drink contains coffee and Irish whisky and is topped off with cream.
2. Quality Guinness. The pub keeps a short beer tap line — meaning it goes from keg to glass quickly — and cleans the tap line every two weeks.
3. Potato skins, banger sandwich and full Irish breakfast
The ultimate O'Brien's experience: St. Patrick's Day, obviously. Otherwise, any day when you can sit down for the full Irish breakfast and coffee.
If you’re looking for a great place to watch the upcoming World Cup on L.A.'s Westside — particularly if you can’t break the bank for a ticket — there’s O’Brien’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica.
Owner Willy O'Sullivan sat down with Larry Mantle, host of AirTalk, to discuss how the pub has managed to maintain its customer base, while others — like Brennan's and Britannia Pub — have had to close their doors. He says it all comes down to partnerships with local sports fans, trivia nights and maintaining their authentic Irish pub food and brews.
A native of Cork City, the second-largest city in Ireland, O'Sullivan arrived stateside in 1987. He opened the pub in 1994, and as interest in soccer has grown, he's built a community around European football matches, especially after subsequent World Cups. Along the road, he's also built a following for New York sports teams.
St. Patrick's Day, obviously.
But ... any other day he'd recommend coming in for the Irish breakfast with a coffee in hand or "the best Guinness in Southern California," in his words.
Because Guinness is the pub's signature drink, he's made sure to give it a short beer tap line, meaning it goes from keg to glass quickly. He also makes sure to clean the tap line every two weeks to ensure quality.
Topline:
The World Cup launches soon in Los Angeles during tumultuous times. This all means there could be protests at the stadium or various fan events. And even if demonstrations don't materialize, there are plenty of questions about what's happening with the tournament and what's allowed in the stadium and fan zones.
What's the deal with water bottles: FIFA's rules about what fans can bring into the stadium are strict. Sealed water bottles and even empty reusable water bottles are prohibited — a rule that's raised eyebrows, since the tournament is taking place in the heat of summer.
Can FIFA ban political speech: The short answer is yes, according to David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition.
Read on... for more on what is and isn't allowed during the tournament.
The World Cup launches soon in Los Angeles during tumultuous times.
It's still not clear if Iran's national team will make it to its two games here amid the U.S. war, and if they do, they'll show up to a diaspora unsure how to greet them. SoFi workers have voted to authorize a strike at the stadium, which means there could be a picket line outside the opening U.S. match against Paraguay. And ICE agents are part of the World Cup security apparatus.
This all means there could be protests at the stadium or various fan events. Even if demonstrations don't materialize, there are plenty of questions about what's happening with the tournament, what's allowed in the stadium and fan zones, and what else to expect. Even FIFA's water bottle policy (they're not allowed) is sparking criticism.
Below, we answer some of your questions about what's ahead and how to prepare when the World Cup arrives in L.A. on June 12.
FIFA's rules about what fans can bring into the stadium are strict. Sealed water bottles and even empty reusable water bottles are prohibited — a rule that's raised eyebrows since the tournament is taking place in the heat of summer.
Fans can bring posters and flags if they're under a certain size, but FIFA's guidelines also prohibit any political messages, so some signs won't be allowed.
All the rules can be found in FIFA's Code of Conduct. Here are some highlights:
What you can bring:
What you can't bring:
Similar stadium rules apply at the fan festival. Those guidelines are here. LAist has asked the Los Angeles host committee if reusable water bottles are also banned at fan zones, but did not receive an answer as of publication.
The city of L.A. is hosting watch parties that don't require a ticket, which means there aren't the same restrictions on what you can bring. Details are here.
If you're wondering if FIFA has a right to ban political speech within its stadiums, the short answer is yes, according to David Loy, legal director of the First Amendment Coalition.
" The First Amendment protects against censorship by the government. It does not apply to the actions of private entities," Loy said. "A private entity is entitled to set its own rules for what speech it allows and doesn't allow at, at its events."
Loy said people have the strongest First Amendment protections in a "traditional public forum" like a public park, street or sidewalk. In those settings, restrictions on protests have to be politically neutral. That means demonstrations can still be limited by what are known as "time, place, or manner restrictions" — such as noise regulations — but not because of the content of the demonstration.
A number of officials have confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be part of the security plan for the World Cup in Los Angeles, sparking outrage.
L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna recently said he'd received assurances from the Department of Homeland Security that ICE would not be conducting immigration enforcement.
Still, L.A. host committee officials and others have offered no guarantees that immigration enforcement won't take place.
LAist has a "Know Your Rights" guide to interacting with ICE agents here.
SoFi Stadium workers represented by Unite Here Local 11 are also currently negotiating with their employer for the right to walk off the job if they feel unsafe due to the presence of ICE agents at their workplace.
FIFA has a grievance mechanism where you can report human rights concerns. You can find that portal here.
L.A. County has also deployed its 211 helpline for the World Cup. You can call 211 to submit a complaint.
Still, some groups aren't satisfied, saying human rights at the tournament have been an afterthought. You can read our stories on those concerns here.
Santa Rosa Island, the second largest island in Channel Islands National Park, will be closed to visitors at least through the end of June after a major wildfire burned over 18,000 acres, more than one-third of the island. Overnight and backcountry camping within the burn areas will also remain closed for the rest of the year.
Why it matters: The island is home to some of the rarest plants and animals on the planet, including the house cat-sized Santa Rosa Island fox and critically endangered Torrey pines. The island is also part of the ancestral territory of the Chumash people. Some of the oldest human remains in North America have been found there, dating back some 13,000 years. The island is beloved by backpackers and hikers as well.
What’s next: The fire has been fully contained, meaning firefighters have stopped its progression. Starting today, a team of specialists — including engineers, ecologists and fire experts — will spend about a week on the island evaluating the post-fire conditions.
Topline:
Cleanup of a toxic chemical from storage tanks in Garden Grove has been postponed because “some needed resources” were unavailable. The Orange County Health Care Agency did not say when the cleanup would start.
The backstory: Last month, a chemical leak in a storage tank owned by GKN Aerospace forced about 50,000 nearby residents to evacuate. Officials had originally scheduled to remove the neutralized methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in plastics manufacturing, to begin Thursday, June 4.
What’s new: The postponement comes as Garden Grove leaders are demanding more answers from GKN Aerospace, the company that owns the storage tanks. During a special meeting Thursday, City Council members and Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein called on the company to address the public at their meeting next week.
What’s next: Earlier this week, the company said it’s giving $3 million to a community fund through United Way to help affected residents, but officials said it was not enough.
Cleanup of a toxic chemical from storage tanks in Garden Grove has been postponed because “some needed resources” were unavailable. The Orange County Health Care Agency did not say when the cleanup would start.
Last month, a chemical leak in a storage tank owned by GKN Aerospace forced about 50,000 nearby residents to evacuate. Officials had originally scheduled to remove the neutralized methyl methacrylate, a chemical used in plastics manufacturing, to begin Thursday, June 4.
The postponement comes as Garden Grove leaders are demanding more answers from GKN Aerospace, the company that owns the storage tanks. During a special meeting Thursday, City Council members and Mayor Stephanie Klopfenstein called on the company to address the public at their meeting next week.
“The City of Garden Grove expects accountability. The community should not be left to absorb the consequences of this incident without answers, support, and a clear commitment from GKN to prevent future harm,” Klopfenstein said as she read a letter addressed to the company.
Earlier this week, the company said it’s giving $3 million to a community fund through United Way to help affected residents, but officials said it was not enough.
”While it will help some folks in the immediate nature, it is not a refund or a reimbursement for everyone in their times of financial stress and for the hardship that they experienced,” Councilmember Ariana Arestegui said.
