The Brief

The main contenders to become California’s new U.S. senator want voters to see them in a certain light:

Rep. Adam Schiff as a defender of democracy; Rep. Katie Porter as an anti-corruption crusader; Rep. Barbara Lee as a courageous progressive; Eric Early as a champion for the “forgotten Americans;” and Steve Garvey as a commonsense consensus builder.

But their ads, slogans and speeches offer only a glimpse into who they are, or what they have done — or plan to do — to tackle some of Californians’ most pressing concerns. All three Democrats have years of voting records while serving in Congress.

All but Early are set to debate for the first time in this race on Monday evening. Ahead of the event, CalMatters sent each campaign a questionnaire and analyzed their records and stances on issues such as border, immigration, criminal justice, foreign policy, economy, labor and housing.

Here’s a detailed look at where they stand on those issues — and how they differ from each other:

Border and immigration

The three Democrats share a similar track record on immigration and border security issues.

They all voted against Republican proposals to bar federally-funded housing to migrants, limit asylum eligibility and condemn the use of public school facilities to shelter migrants. They have all supported — or even co-sponsored — bills to provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and their children, establish independent oversight on border security activities and limit the president’s ability to restrict undocumented immigrant entries.

All support expanding unemployment insurance benefits to undocumented immigrants seeking work.

At a November immigration forum, all three Democrats criticized President Joe Biden’s policy that banned most migrants from seeking asylum if they crossed the border illegally. Porter said the policy was “dishonoring this nation’s history and our future.” Schiff and Lee both called it “wrong.”

Biden — noting that previous congressional actions tied his hands — decided to continue building former President Donald Trump’s Mexican border wall in October, shocking some Democrats. The decision drew instant criticism from Lee, who urged White House to reverse course in a tweet.

Lee, Schiff and Porter all agreed a generic border wall is ineffective in response to CalMatters’ questionnaire this month. Schiff and Porter both advocated for increased use of detection technologies at the border.

Porter, however, said some “site-specific” barriers do work, “for example, in dangerous areas where the lives of migrants and U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel are at risk when there are unauthorized crossings and search and rescue missions.”

Migrants stay in a makeshift camp in Jacumba Hot Springs in San Diego on Nov. 18, 2023.

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Adriana Heldiz

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CalMatters

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Of the three Democrats, Lee appears to be the most staunch critic of allocating more funds to federal border patrol agencies.

In 2019, Lee voted against authorizing a $4.6 billion humanitarian aid and security funding package at the southern border, while Schiff and Porter voted in favor. The package — backed by Republicans and moderate Democrats — passed the House without the stronger protections in migrant facilities that House progressives had supported.

Lee called for a 50% budget cut for the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in statements to CalMatters. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security, she said, would be better spent on “meaningful immigration reform.”

“ICE is rotten to the core,” Lee said in response to the CalMatters questionnaire. She is the only Senate candidate to have voted against creating the agency in 2002, when Schiff — then in his first term — supported it.

Porter told CalMatters she generally does not support additional funding for the agency, but said she wants border patrol employees to “receive pay commensurate with their work” to help “recruit a workforce that can meet the needs of our border communities.”

Schiff said Congress should provide aid to border communities and increase resources and personnel at ports of entry to help handle an influx of asylum seekers.

The top two Republicans — Garvey and Early — both support the border wall, additional funding for border patrol agents and tightened restrictions on border entries. Both said the nation should prioritize immigration applications from people legally present in the United States and both oppose offering undocumented immigrants unemployment benefits.

Early argued he supports a path to citizenship for “illegal immigrants who have enlisted in and participated honorably in our military.” Currently, non-citizens can only join the military if they are legal permanent residents, but a Democrats-backed bill in Congress would allow undocumented DREAMers to serve in the military.

Garvey visited the Mexico border as one of his first campaign events last month and said he wants to complete the wall.

Crime and guns

On this topic, the Republican and Democratic candidates seem to share some common ground.

They have all stressed the need to invest in mental health services as well as policing to address crime, but the devil’s in the details.

The three Democrats want more funding to reform policing methods. They all voted for de-escalation training for police, more federal dollars for violence intervention initiatives and restricting police use of chokeholds after George Floyd’s death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer in 2020.

Garvey and Early’s campaigns called for more funding for police departments and law enforcement officers, as well as the need to secure the southern border.

All three Democrats support boosting funding for mental health treatment programs. Lee — arguing poverty is the root cause of crime — believes raising the minimum wage, expanding access to healthcare and legalizing marijuana will address the “structural problems” that lead to criminal acts, her campaign says.

Porter’s campaign championed her Mental Health Justice Act — a 2022 bill to give grants to governments to recruit and train mental health professionals to respond to emergency calls. Schiff and Lee both voted for the measure.

Garvey’s campaign said he also supports funding to treat mental health problems and drug addiction, arguing they often contribute to gun violence and homelessness. Early, via a campaign spokesperson, advocated for a “rebuild” of the nation’s mental health system “that allows for the severely mentally ill to be permanently housed and cared for,” arguing that services were “decimated” in the 1960s — when people were discharged from institutions and placed in community-based care centers amid the civil rights movement.

Gunsmith Don Gregory shows off two new single-action firearms recently released by Juggernaut Tactical in Orange on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023. Photo by Alisha Jucevic for CalMatters

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Alisha Jucevic

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CalMatters

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On gun policies, Garvey supports “common-sense measures” such as pre-sale background checks and an assault weapon ban — something mainly supported by Democrats, according to his campaign. “We can keep guns out of the hands of criminals while also protecting Second Amendment rights,” his campaign said in a response to CalMatters’ questions.

The candidates are otherwise split along party lines. For example, all three Democrats oppose the federal death penalty, while Republicans argue the opposite.

But there are nuanced differences, especially among Democrats. They all voted against legislation to permanently raise fentanyl-related drugs to the highest class of illegal substances — a GOP-led bill Biden urged Congress to pass. Lee, however, was the only candidate to vote against even temporarily doing so.

Schiff — a former prosecutor in Los Angeles — has the most controversial track record on criminal justice issues due to his past support for tough-on-crime policies.

Schiff was among 48 Democrats to support the Thin Blue Line Act in 2017 to apply the federal death penalty to cop killers — something Early supports. Schiff has since publicly spoken against the sentence. In his campaign response to CalMatters, Schiff credited his change of heart to “technological advancements” that revealed “deep flaws” with the death penalty and a “disproportionate application” of the sentence on people of color.

As a state senator, Schiff authored legislation to crack down on juveniles, including a bill to create year-long “boot camps” for teenagers found in possession of marijuana at school and another to try kids 14 years and older as adults if they commit murder or rape.

In Congress, he introduced legislation in 2009 to increase funding to a controversial program to place more cops in communities, supported language to exclude asylum seekers and immigrants from privacy protections and voted for the Protect and Serve Act in 2018 to impose stricter penalties on assaulting law enforcement officers, which most Democrats voted for. Lee voted against both measures.

Schiff’s record irked criminal justice activists, who in a 2021 letter urged Gov. Gavin Newsom not to appoint Schiff as the next state attorney general. He has since softened some of his positions on criminal justice. In February 2023, he said his viewpoint had changed since the 1990s. “I’ve learned that some of the policies of the 90s didn’t work,” he told ABC7 last year.

Foreign policy and defense

The issue of a ceasefire in the Gaza war highlights a key split among the three Democratic hopefuls.

A day after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, Lee called for a permanent ceasefire from the stage of a Senate candidate debate — one of the first members of Congress to do so. Schiff called for “unequivocal support” for Israel, while Porter cautioned against Islamophobia and mourned the lives lost on both sides.

For months afterward, as the casualty numbers rose in Gaza, Schiff and Porter both called for a “humanitarian pause” — aligning with the Biden administration’s policy. But as calls for a permanent ceasefire grew, Porter shifted her stance in a Dec. 18 statement, calling for a “lasting bilateral ceasefire” that “brings remaining hostages home, secures Israel’s safety, removes Hamas from operational control of Gaza, and invests in creating a better economic and political architecture for Palestinians in Gaza.”

When asked to explain why she shifted her stance, Porter’s campaign pointed to her Dec. 18 statement, in which she seemed to suggest Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of Palestinian governance of Gaza was the reason.

“His remarks and actions necessitate tough conversations with our ally Israel about its long-term strategy and among U.S. policymakers about our approach in the Middle East,” she said in the statement.

Schiff, however, has stood by his initial position, arguing that a permanent ceasefire would “perpetuate Hamas terrorist control of Gaza,” according to his campaign.

All three Democrats signed on as co-sponsors of a largely symbolic bipartisan House resolution affirming Israel’s right to defend itself. But Lee was the only candidate to vote against the Hamas International Financing Prevention Act — a bipartisan bill that would sanction Hamas, its affiliates and governments providing aid to the group.

“The bill was opposed by major humanitarian organizations because it is overly broad and will hurt a lot of innocent Palestinians by making it harder if not impossible to receive humanitarian assistance,” Lee spokesperson Sean Ryan told CalMatters in an email.

An Israeli battle tank moves along the border between the Gaza Strip and southern Israel on Wednesday as battles between Israel and Hamas continue.

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Jack Guez

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AFP via Getty Images

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Decades before Gaza, Lee shocked the world by being the lone vote against the Afghanistan war after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a decision that got her death threats then but now hailed as a show of courage by her supporters. 

Lee is still somewhat of a unicorn on foreign policy compared to her opponents.

In 2002, Lee voted against authorizing the use of military force in Iraq, while Schiff voted in favor. Lee has since sponsored a resolution to repeal the authorization most years; it wasn’t until 2021 that the House passed it, with Schiff and Porter both voting in favor.

Lee was also the only candidate to support a U.S. troop removal from Syria in March 2023 — a measure most Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi, voted against. Critics of the bill said a removal could give Islamic State terrorists time to reorganize, the Associated Press reported.

Additionally, Lee touts herself as the most consistent in calling for cutting the nation’s “bloated” defense budget. She has voted against authorizing defense and military spending when Schiff and Porter voted in favor, voting records show.

Schiff’s campaign said he wants to reduce the Pentagon’s budget by 10% and supports eliminating weapons systems the administration does not need or want. “There is far too much waste in the defense budget that must be eliminated,” his campaign said.

Porter’s campaign said the funding level needs to be indexed to national security threats and there needs to be more oversight. “I’ll never rubber stamp spending, but I believe investing in our servicemembers and their well-being is paramount,” the campaign said.

Both Republicans support increasing the defense budget. Neither Garvey nor Early supported a call for a ceasefire. They both argued Israel must have the ability to fight Hamas until it is destroyed, their campaigns said.

Economy and labor

Although far lower than during the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation remains high, jumping from 3.1% to 3.4% in December. Experts attribute it to the rising cost of housing, and project it’s unlikely to last given a housing market cool-down, NBC reported.

Republican candidates blame the Biden administration. Garvey attributed it to “excessive government spending” while Early criticized the reduction of domestic energy production — a GOP talking point that conflicts with record-high U.S. oil production in October.

Democrats slam corporations instead. Porter — a self-proclaimed warrior taking on Wall Street interests — argued inflation worsened because businesses are overcharging customers, pointing to record-high profits for big corporations. Similarly, Lee blamed corporate greed. Apart from corporate profit, Schiff pointed to the supply chain interruption during the pandemic and a lack of housing as contributing factors.

Among the three Democrats, Schiff — a past member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition — has historically been the most skeptical of federal spending. In 2005, he demanded a “rainy-day” reserve in the budget.

Schiff is the only Senate candidate to vote in favor of raising the debt ceiling last year to avoid a default. Lee and Porter — along with 38 other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — voted against it. Lee said she voted to stand up against “extreme MAGA Republicans holding our economy hostage,” and Porter — who has argued the debt ceiling should be abolished — criticized the measure for including “giveaways” to the oil and gas industry, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Schiff, who applied to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus last year but withdrew, voted multiple times against the “People’s Budget” — which contains all the caucus’ priorities and which has served as a purity test. Lee — the only other candidate in Congress at the time — voted in favor.

Lee is also the only candidate to sponsor the Curtail Executive Overcompensation Act, a measure increasing taxes on corporate CEOs. Lee and Porter are both sponsoring the Oligarch Act, another measure aimed to tax the rich, while Schiff is not. Schiff has, however, expressed support for repealing tax cuts for the wealthy made under the Trump administration.

Construction workers on site of a tiny homes village in Goshen on June 2, 2023. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

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Larry Valenzuela

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All three Democrats have gained union endorsements, although Schiff has won the most from statewide unions. All the Democrats support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act to override all state right-to-work laws and strengthen union protections. Garvey and Early both said that the decision belongs to states, not the federal government, according to their campaigns.

The five candidates also split along party lines on whether striking workers should be eligible for unemployment benefits — a controversial bill vetoed by Gov. Newsom last year. All three Democrats said those workers deserve the benefits. Early outright said no, while Garvey’s campaign told CalMatters that governments should stay out of disputes between unions and businesses.

All three Democrats believe the federal minimum wage — $7.25 per hour — should increase.

Lee called for a $50 hourly minimum wage during a forum last year, noting that’s the living wage one working adult with two children would have to make, according to an Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimate.

Porter’s campaign said she supports a $20 federal minimum wage and $25 for California, indexed to inflation. Schiff’s campaign said he supports a $20 federal minimum wage indexed to inflation, with a boost to $25 for health care workers.

Early believes the federal rate does not need to change and that an increase would worsen inflation, according to his campaign.

Garvey, on the other hand, did not give a specific number. “Each state and its voters have the ability to raise their minimum wage, as California has multiple times, beyond the federal minimum wage,” his campaign said.

Homelessness and housing

On California’s worsening homelessness crisis, Republican candidates say mental health problems are the main culprit — not the lack of affordable housing.

Early, in his campaign’s response to CalMatters’ questions, said the cause of the state’s homelessness is “severe mental illness” and “soft-on-crime” policies, referring to Proposition 47 — a ballot measure passed in 2014 that reduced penalties for certain thefts and drug offenses.

“The biggest factor is manifestly not insufficient low-income housing,” the campaign’s statement read.

Garvey’s campaign said the biggest driving factors of the problem are “drug and alcohol addiction” and “mental health issues.” During a Wednesday visit to a Sacramento homeless encampment, he said he wants a “deep dive” into how taxpayer dollars are spent to battle the homelessness crisis.

An unidentified person carries a blanket along Alvarado Street in Los Angeles.

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David Swanson

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Getty Images

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But the Democratic candidates all argued a lack of affordable housing is driving the crisis.

The homelessness problem is a “direct result” of failed federal housing policies over the past decades, Porter argues on her website. Her campaign said she supports a “major investment” in housing, including a fully-funded federal Section 8 program and an expansion of the national Low Income Housing Tax Credit.

Lee’s campaign said homelessness is a housing issue “at its core.” Like Porter, she also called for a fully-funded Section 8 program and a national rent control standard — one that the Biden administration has pushed for. She believes expanding health care access, offering free college and raising the minimum wage would help ease homelessness in the state, her campaign said. She also touted legislation she introduced to help renters, such as the DEPOSIT Act, which would allow federal programs to cover security deposit and moving expenses for those using the Housing Choice vouchers.

Similarly, Schiff’s campaign said he also supports expanding Section 8 vouchers and providing wraparound services. Additionally, his campaign stressed the importance of easing regulations and offering tax incentives to encourage the build-out of affordable housing — something Garvey and Early also support.

On Schiff’s campaign website, he touted legislation he introduced and supported to fight homelessness, including the Affordable and Homeless Housing Incentive Act, which would offer tax incentives for homeless shelters.

Asked if they support more federal funding to combat the crisis, only Early’s campaign said no. Garvey’s campaign said funding for housing should prioritize projects in “low-income areas, and near job and transit centers.”

Schiff and Lee have both touted their success securing earmarked funds for housing and homelessness. Porter, however, is a staunch opponent of earmark requests, arguing the funding goes to lawmakers’ “pet projects” and requests should be rejected. She has signed onto letters instead, urging her colleagues to approve grants to homelessness assistance programs.

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on Friday.

All December, local pop-ups and community arts spaces are hosting holiday markets on the Eastside.

Whether you’re trying to find one-of-a-kind pieces, handmade jewelry, or simply looking to support small businesses during the holidays, we’ve got just the guide for you.

Holiday Mercadito — Tonalli Studio

Inside Tonalli Studio

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Alma Lucia

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Boyle Heights Beat

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Tonalli Studio opens the holiday season with Holiday Mercadito, where you can shop goods from local artists, creatives and printmakers. Enjoy an afternoon of shopping while you check out the opening reception of the studio’s newest exhibition, La Morenita. The showcase will feature over 20 artists, including the works of Chicana altarista Ofelia Esparza, the studio’s co-founder.

Holiday Market Sale — Plaza De La Raza

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Plaza de la Raza

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Plaza de La Raza’s Holiday Market Sale returns this year with its annual host, Los Angeles-based Chicano artist Frank Romero. Taking place in the Boathouse Gallery, the two-day sale will feature a “stop and shop” with artists and other vendors, where attendees can buy unique gifts this holiday season. Admission and parking are free on-site.

Holiday Artist Mercado — LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

Visitors exploring the mercado at LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes.

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Courtesy LA Plaza de Cultura y Artes

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Local vendors, live screenprinting, holiday-themed workshops and even a Bad Bunny look-alike contest are what you’ll find at this year’s Holiday Artist Mercado. Explore booths featuring jewelry and clothing, and enjoy coffee from Acurrúcame Cafe, while listening to live DJs. Winners of the Bad Bunny look-alike contest will take home a $150 grand prize. Only the first 15 people who arrive in their Bad Bunny attire will be able to participate. A live screenprinting session with artist Mario Hernandez will allow guests to take home limited-edition shirts of Patrick Martinez’s neon art, “Tierra Y Libertad.” Guests also can visit the gift-wrapping station to experiment with a variety of different papers, ribbons and stamps to decorate gifts this holiday season. The event is free. You can let them know you’re attending by registering here.

Goddess & Queer Jingle Mingle — The East LA Goddess and Queer Mercado

A vendor at the 2024 Goddess and Queer Jingle Mingle event in East L.A.

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Courtesy Goddess Mercado

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Monthly East L.A. pop-ups Goddess Mercado and Queer Mercado are combining Latina and queer vendors for this special holiday collaboration event. The holiday fiesta encourages attendees to shop with intention and explore the unique arts and gifts for sale. Beyond shopping for the holidays, guests can check out the East LA Farmers Market, full of goods and community resources to explore. The event will feature live entertainment, a fashion show, an art walk, food and creative workshops. From clothing, apothecary, cosmetics, books and even handmade goods, the Goddess and Queer Jingle Mingle can be your next stop this gifting season.

Brigade Artisan Marketplace Solstice Holiday Sale — Brigade Artisan Marketplace

The 14th annual Solstice Holiday Sale returns to the Pico Aliso Recreation Center this year. This free family event will feature handmade gifts, fine art, self-care products and vintage upcycled fashion. The first 20 shoppers who purchase from a vendor will be entered into a raffle to win gifts and prizes. There also will be a raffle fundraiser with proceeds for IMPACTO Youth Programming. Grab some food and desserts while you catch live entertainment, including guest DJs and Danza Mexica performances. A solstice community altar will be on display for guests to leave an offering.

Mercado Del Pueblo Winter Marketplace

Eastside Cafe and Mercado Del Pueblo return this year to host the 24th annual Mercado Del Pueblo Holiday Market. This two-day event is open to all ages and will have a variety of activities to enjoy, from live DJ entertainment to food and drinks and raffles. Attendees also can shop around to support local artisan vendors and makers all weekend long.

Barrio Flea: Holiday Makers Market — Ray and Roy’s Market

The inaugural Barrio Flea Holiday Makers Market will take place at the new Ray and Roy’s Market, which opened earlier this year. Featuring over 20 vendors, makers and curators, you can find a selection of original handmade gifts, vintage clothing, art, jewelry and prints for sale, among many other goods. The event will have holiday Mexican wine specials and food pop-ups for folks looking to grab a bite to eat. Enjoy the sounds of DJs Linda Nuves and Ojos de Hojas while shopping locally. The Holiday Market is free and open to all ages.

Holiday Mercadito — Self Help Graphics & Art

Self Help Graphics & Art Marketplace.

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Eric Jaipal

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Self Help Graphics & Art

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This year, the Lincoln Heights Senior Center will transform into a Holiday Mercadito hosted by Self-Help Graphics and Art. Attendees can shop a variety of art, high-quality goods, crafts and decor from L.A.-based artists and artisans. Explore the booths, art and vendors — you might just find something for everyone on your list here.

By Our People For Our People: Community Night Market — InnerCity Struggle

InnerCity Struggle is hosting a community night market, By Our People For Our People. The organization encourages people to bring their loved ones and shop small this holiday season. Enjoy free food, giveaways and activities for all ages, including a DIY holiday gift-making activation. The evening also will feature local artists and vendors and a free community closet.

As the one year anniversary of the Palisades fire approaches, a group of volunteers and Scouts with Scouting America are headed back to a beloved camp for the first time since it was lost in the blaze.

An historic site

The 110-acre site nestled in the Santa Monica Mountains known as Camp Josepho has welcomed thousands of Scouts since the 1940s. But a change in the direction of the wind during the Palisades Fire meant it would never look the same again. Pretty much everything was lost in the blaze, save for a concrete pool house.

“It’s a bit of a gut check, it almost doesn’t feel real, 85 years of camp... was just decimated that fast and that suddenly,” Nathan Erlandson, chief operating officer of Scouting America’s Western Los Angeles County Council, told LAist.

An undated photo of Camp Josepho

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Courtesy Dr. John S. Dahlem

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Listed as a Los Angeles Historical Cultural Monument, the land was gifted to the organization by the Josepho family. Ganna Josepho was a silent film star. Her husband, Anatol Josepho is credited with inventing the photo booth, which was coined the ‘Photomaton.’

Anatol Josepho

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Courtesy Dr. John S. Dahlem

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For decades, Scouts young and old have made the pilgrimage back to the place.

“Some of the older generation, a lot of them are no longer with us, they absolutely loved their experiences down there. It was just such a beautiful location,” said Lee Harrison, Scout executive for Western Los Angeles County Council. He’s been involved with his local council since he was 15, nearly four decades ago.

Harrison remembered Camp Josepho before the fire, when it was complete with the towering Malibu Lodge, which was built with redwood by aircraft manufacturer Donald Douglas and resembled a hangar.

Harrison used to love throwing his sleeping bag down in front of the lodge’s towering stone fireplace.

“It is irreplaceable and had a tremendous amount of history in it. And that’s the saddest part is that you would walk into that cavernous space, you could look at all the names that were written on the walls... And all of that’s gone,” he said.

Many famous and notable people visited Camp Josepho over the years, at least one of them uninvited.

Camp Josepho post Palisades Fire

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Aaron Kupferman

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There was the time Adam Sandler buzzed onto the historic grounds.

“He drove his gold cart down into the camp one day, and the site manager who was there had no idea who he was and chased him out of the camp. And he [Sandler] said ‘I’ll never come back here again,’” Harrison recalled.

This weekend, Scouts and members of the community will start to bring the place back to life, weeding out non-native plants and invasive species that have sprung to life around the ruins.

What's left of a pool at Camp Josepho

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Aaron Kupferman

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Harrison said the hope is to build the camp back with a lighter footprint, blending it more with the surrounding nature.

“People were -- and are -- very passionate about this place. And I think primarily because we’re able to bring lots of kids who don’t necessarily get access to the outdoors... in a very easy and quick way,” he said.

Harris and Erlandson said they are looking for support from the community as they breathe new life into the camp. You can visit their website to learn how you can help.

It's the ultimate road for the ultimate driving machine, known for its coiling, hairpin turns that have lent a 2.4-mile stretch of Mulholland Highway the sobriquet of "The Snake."

On Tuesday, this famous squiggle etched through the Santa Monica Mountains finally reopened, seven years after it was shut down by the Woolsey Fire.

Here’s the catch: People who live in the area and enthusiasts who frequent the route wish you didn’t know. More about that later. But first, let’s take a short drive down memory lane.

Connecting L.A.

Groundbreaking ceremony for Mulholland Drive in 1923, called Mulholland Highway at the time.

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Keystone Photo Service

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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

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Aerial view of Mulholland Drive taken in 1924, looking east over the Hollywood Hills from a point just east of Girard.

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Robert E. Spence

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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

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The Mulholland corridor, all 50-some miles of it, has long lured motorists chasing speed against a scrolling backdrop of the city. In fact, when the thoroughfare carrying the name of the man who brought water to modern Los Angeles first opened in 1924, the prediction was that it'd become "one of the best known scenic roads in the United States."

The project, backed by landowners who wanted to bring development to the Hollywood Hills, was conceived to link the burgeoning city to the mountains and the sea.

The road has inspired art, film — and since its earliest days, movie stars. Before World War II, it was Gary Cooper and John Carradine taking their Duesenbergs there for a spin. In the 1950s, James Dean used its turns and switchbacks as a training course of sorts.

"All I've been doing is driving around Mulholland Drive," said the actor, according to lore, after placing second overall in the Palm Spring Road Races.

A winding Mulholland Drive in Hollywood Hills in 1933.

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Courtesy Security Pacific National Bank Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

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View of the Hollywoodland sign from Mulholland

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Herman J Schultheis

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Herman J Schultheis Collection / Los Angeles Photographers Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

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A decade later, it was Steve McQueen, taking The Snake on his Jaguar or Triumph, before making a pit stop at the Rock Store, the nearby biker hangout.

The bad stretch

As legends of the road grew, so too did the crowd, including thrill-seekers — locally and from all corners of the world — looking to strut their stuff.

For years, a YouTube channel documented these rides and wipeouts, with cameras set up at the unofficial end of The Snake, dubbed Edwards Corner.

Officer G. H. Yeaton gives Norman Norlander directions atop Mulholland Drive at Beverly Glen as children wave placards urging traffic safety in 1937.

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Gordon Dean

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Courtesy Valley Times Collection, Los Angeles Public Library

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Those videos stopped in 2018 after the Woolsey Fire and mudslides a year later caused major damage to The Snake.

Keeping it low key

Now, those 2.4 miles finally have reopened. But instead of fanfare, it’s been met with controversy and a hope that outsiders don’t notice.

That’s because a debate was raging about whether the stretch should be reopened at all to the public.

On the one side, you have homeowners and residents who have long been turned off by the noise and the open exhaust pipes — not to mention the crashes — from a constant stream of motorists.

Skyline view of downtown Los Angeles from Mulholland Drive

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Jeff Thurlow

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COVID-19 Community Archive, Los Angeles Public Library

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On the other, you have the riding clubs and Mulholland regulars wary of the same thing: that overuse will bring the callous riders, complaints and crashes of the before times.

“Sadly, irresponsible riders will have it closed again before you know it,” a poster in a Facebook thread said of The Snake’s reopening.

The question was even addressed by L.A. County Public Works officials in an FAQ issued this year, where they said the roadway did not meet the criteria for a permanent closure and that closing it permanently would cut off a key access point for residents.

LAist reached out to a number of riders for the story, to no avail. Same with our request to the CHP division that oversees The Snake.

So there you have it. The famed route is now open. Just don’t expect any welcoming waves if you venture through.