The Brief

"1-2-3-4! Relax your hips!”

At the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio in Alhambra, a dozen dancers follow in lockstep with instructor Chris Cho as he introduces flowing bachata moves.

"1-2-3-4! Relax your knees!"

Lai Lai is one of the most popular stops on an L.A.-area dance circuit for a community of older Asian ballroom enthusiasts. Flitting across the ballroom's wooden dance floor, bathed in dramatic lighting, they mingle with other retirees with the time to waltz and salsa, many of them originally from Taiwan, China, Thailand and Vietnam.

Instructor Chris Cho teaches bachata moves at the Lai Lai Ballroom & Studio.

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But after the tragedy of last year, the studio almost went dark.

On Jan. 21, a gunman attacked Star Ballroom Dance Studio, a sister dance hall in Monterey Park frequented by the same crowd.

Huu Can Tran, 72, fired on a crowd of dozens celebrating the Lunar New Year. He then drove a few miles to Lai Lai, where there were several people left in the ballroom. Brandon Tsay, whose family owns Lai Lai, was in the ticket office when he saw the shooter enter the lobby with a gun.

Since last year's shooting in Monterey Park, Brandon Tsay has strived to make Lai Lai, his family's dance hall, a place of healing.

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“Within the first three seconds, I processed that I must do something to save everybody's lives,” Tsay said.

Tsay wrestled the gun away from the shooter, who took off. Tran was found dead the next day of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He’d been part of the local ballroom dance scene, but police still have not specified a motive.

Lai Lai draws a crowd of regulars from across L.A., particularly the San Gabriel Valley.

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Eleven people were killed, nine injured, all in their 50s, 60s and 70s. Tsay was anointed a hero for averting further tragedy by the likes of President Joe Biden. But privately he struggled with what to do about Lai Lai, which the family almost shuttered during the pandemic.

The local dance community was so traumatized that Tsay didn’t think they’d come back, and the dance hall would have to close. Some instructors have left, taking students with them. But Tsay says most people have returned.

“I was so glad that they came back with a big smile on their faces just getting connected to one another, again, at a physical location and recounting the situation, it was quite therapeutic for everybody,” Tsay said.

Lai Lai's ballroom draws dancers from across L.A. County.

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Meanwhile, the Star Dance Ballroom Studio — where the shooting took place — closed permanently.

WeChat and meals

As the community held vigils and politicians called for stricter gun control in the wake of the shooting, survivors found solace in one another.

Lloyd Gock says a group of about 40 of them messaged over WeChat and shared meals and tears.

That night of the shooting, Gock sought cover as his friends fell around him.

“I was about 10 feet away from the shooter,” Gock said. “I just hid under the table, so the bullet just went by me.”

Lloyd Gock, a survivor of the shooting at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio shooting in Monterey Park, stands outside a sister dancehall, Lai Lai in Alhambra.

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The last year has transformed his life. Gock, who owns an apparel company, found himself in the role of activist. He testified for tighter gun control and advocated for a fund for survivors who were not injured, which the city created. (A separate fund that raised about $1.4 million on GoFundMe has gone to victim’s families and survivors who were injured.) 

“Our life is never the same,” Gock said. “Never the same since that day.”

A place of healing

Tsay says he wants Lai Lai dance studio to continue to be a place of healing.

As the shooting’s anniversary approached, Lai Lai hosted a community event, where they offered free dance lessons.

Tsay also invited mental health clinicians to that event, among them Sheila Wu, who directs the Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers which has locations across L.A. County.

Sheila Wu, director of Asian Pacific Counseling and Treatment Centers, has been working on community events with Brandon Tsay, who's family owns Lai Lai Ballroom and Studio.

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"For people to come back to the location of what happened, I think it will trigger certain emotions in some,” Wu said.

But Wu says the event also provided a chance to offer counseling to an older, immigrant crowd that’s resistant to seeking help. She says that for many immigrants, there’s this mentality of “we have to be strong, we have to be resilient, and we cannot be weak because we have to succeed.”

Some survivors like Gock have been receptive to counseling. But he says what has helped him cope with his trauma the most has been returning to the dance floor.

“Pretty much you don't have to think about anything, you just concentrate on the next turn with your partner,” Gock said. “All your worries go away for that few minutes that you're dancing.”

Hattie Peng dances with her friend and fellow survivor Lloyd Gock in Lai Lai's ballroom.

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At the community event at Lai Lai, Gock approaches his friend and fellow survivor Hattie Peng, who’s wearing a flowy mini skirt and sparkly headband. She started dancing again a few months after the shooting. She’s now back to coaxing friends to dance the waltz, her favorite.

“Lai le, Lai le!” she says in Mandarin — meaning “come come.” Same words as the name of the studio. And Gock does — Peng takes his hand and they dip and weave across the floor.

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.