The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Drive down Manchester Boulevard in Inglewood, and you’re likely to see WOW Media digital billboards — from slender, curved signs planted in medians to massive LED screens that stretch across streets — that some residents have called eyesores.

What’s less visible is that those billboards are at the center of a corporate power struggle that may be headed to the ballot this November.

On one side: WOW Media, which has a financial partnership with the City of Inglewood that could be worth tens of millions of dollars as an aggressive expansion of its billboard network comes online. The city has not publicly endorsed or opposed the ballot proposals backed by WOW, and Mayor James Butts declined to comment on those initiatives.

On the other: the operators of SoFi Stadium, the Intuit Dome and the Kia Forum — who want the billboard network gone and have their own advertising interests in the stadium district.

Both the billboard company and stadium operators have turned to the same weapon: Petitions to put initiatives on voters’ ballots.

WOW is bankrolling proposals to cap stadium parking fees and raise taxes on event tickets. The stadium operators are pushing a measure to gut the city’s billboard program and the deal with WOW. Each side frames its campaigns as protecting Inglewood residents.

But none of these measures appear to be financed by community members. The money needed to persuade voters is coming from business interests who have major stakes in the upcoming World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics.

This fight goes back to lawsuits between the city and stadium-linked businesses, including those tied to Stan Kroenke’s SoFi Stadium as well as Steve Ballmer’s Intuit Dome and Kia Forum. Last year, those businesses sued after the Inglewood City Council approved an exclusive contract with WOW Media to build and operate more than 100 digital billboards along some of the city’s busiest streets.

Shortly after that, Mayor James Butts wrote directly to Stan Kroenke seeking to ease tensions with Hollywood Park, where SoFi Stadium is located, and questioned whether a prior development agreement was still valid.

Now, as the city gears up for these major sporting events, the dispute has expanded from a fight over advertising control into a broader debate over public space and city revenue.

WOW Media is the main funder of the Inglewood Residents for Stadium Accountability committee. It is backing two proposals: a cap on stadium parking rates and a tax on event tickets.

Stadium-linked businesses are backing a proposal that would roll back or eliminate the city’s billboard program and end its exclusive agreement with WOW.

Those same stadium-linked businesses backing the billboard blight initiative are also behind some of the city’s most visible and controversial digital advertising displays on stadium properties, which have changed Inglewood’s streetscape in recent years.

A person walks past a digital billboard on Prairie Ave. in Inglewood on Saturday, April 18, in Los Angeles, Calif.

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Dania Maxwell

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The LA Local

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Outside these campaigns, WOW already operates large digital billboards across the city, including its “Spectaculars” and twisting digital kiosks along major corridors.

The company promotes them as advertising space for audiences drawn to major sporting events. It has built its brand around aggressive marketing ahead of the city’s upcoming global sports calendar.

In a February Instagram post, WOW wrote: “You need Digital Spectaculars that match the energy. You need massive real estate. You need WOW,” alongside a video clip of a soccer ball bouncing through Inglewood streets.

Taken together, campaign filings, interviews and reporting by The LA Local suggest both sides are fighting not only over policy measures, but over control of high-value advertising space in Inglewood.

When asked why WOW was backing initiatives apparently unrelated to its billboard network, CEO Scott Krantz said the company is pushing for stadium operators to contribute more to the city.

“Our commitment has always been to invest in Inglewood, and that commitment goes far beyond our network,” Krantz wrote, adding that WOW wants Inglewood to remain a strong and financially stable “City of Champions.”

Inside the stadium admissions tax initiative

At the center of one of the competing measures is a proposal to change how Inglewood taxes stadium tickets.

Inglewood has long relied on ticket taxes for revenue. But when the Staples Center opened in 1999 and the Lakers and Kings left the Forum, collections fell from about $700,000 to $225,000. By 2009-10, they were down to $20,000.

That changed with the stadium boom, including SoFi Stadium and the Intuit Dome.

A digital billboard is seen on Manchester Avenue at Spruce Avenue in Inglewood on Saturday, April 18, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif.

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Dania Maxwell

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For The LA Local

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By 2022–23, the city collected $23 million in admissions tax revenue, boosted by major events including the NCAA football national championship game and WrestleMania. Admissions taxes from all ticketed events accounted for nearly 9% of the city’s general fund, according to budget documents.

A cap limits how much the city can collect. Under current rules, each venue pays up to $15 million annually.

The proposed Inglewood Fair Share Admissions Tax Tier Reform and Cap Removal Initiative, funded by WOW media, would eliminate those caps and restructure how venues are taxed.

If approved, it would set a 2.5% ticket charge for mid-sized venues, while larger venues like SoFi Stadium would continue paying 10% per ticket, but without the $15 million cap.

What the parking fee initiative would mean on game days

Above Mel Garcia’s neighborhood, the Intuit Dome looms over the rooftops like an alien spacecraft. On game days, streets are crowded with vehicles.

“The parking is wild, a lot more traffic,” Garcia said. Sometimes he sees residents renting out driveway spots, other times he sees visitors trying to sneak into street parking spaces.

Another proposal, the Parking Price Transparency and Anti-Price-Gouging Initiative, would cap parking near stadiums at $20 per vehicle. It is also funded by WOW Media.

The initiative claims the cap would bring more stability to game days and push drivers toward commercial lots instead of residential streets.

Tens of thousands of vehicles can enter the city during NFL games and concerts, and the city issues an average of 41 parking tickets per major event, according to city documents.

Most city parking fines range between $50 and $70, about the same as the cheapest listed parking around the stadium for some Rams games.

Stadium parking prices can climb into the hundreds of dollars, as they have for the FIFA World Cup this summer.

The city has continued to adjust. On May 12, the City Council approved an ordinance allowing churches and some businesses with large lots to sell parking spots during events.

A signature battle to the ballot

Signature gathering — and signature removal — have also become part of the broader fight.

WOW-backed canvassers appear to have been collecting signatures for initiatives that would cap stadium parking rates and raise taxes on event tickets while also asking voters to withdraw support from the rival campaign seeking to curb WOW’s billboard network.

The LA Local obtained photos of a petition asking voters to remove their names from the Billboard Blight Elimination and Neighborhood Preservation Initiative.

The LA Local obtained photos of a petition asking voters to remove their names.

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Courtesy of the Blight Elimination and Neighborhood Preservation Initiative

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The Inglewood City Clerk confirmed the petition had been filed but did not respond to questions about when it was submitted, who filed it or how many signatures it sought to remove from the rival campaign.

When asked about the effort, Krantz, the WOW CEO, did not directly confirm involvement but also did not deny it. Instead, he argued the city’s stadium businesses have created an “uneven playing field” that benefits themselves at the expense of others.

“The initiatives we support are designed to protect Inglewood from another attempt by stadium owners to take more from residents, small businesses and the city services that support critical infrastructure,” Krantz wrote.

John Shallman, a spokesperson for the billboard blight campaign who used to work with the LA Clippers, said WOW used its stadium-related petitions to target the roughly 13,000 signatures his group had collected.

“While WOW was publicly promoting separate stadium-related initiatives, it was also funding and organizing efforts designed to reduce support for ours by asking voters who had already signed to withdraw their names,” Shallman told The LA Local.

Shallman said canvassers were carrying multiple clipboards and asking some voters who had already signed the billboard initiative to remove their support. The LA Local could not independently verify those claims beyond confirming the petition had been filed with the city.

Krantz previously wrote to The LA Local that the billboard blight initiative was a “private interest power grab” by stadium owners designed to funnel advertising dollars to the billboards on stadium property.

“Their own massive signs — including future signs — are conveniently exempt from this initiative,” Krantz wrote. “The stadiums share none of their advertising revenue with Inglewood residents.”

The WOW-funded campaign directly discloses that they oppose the billboard blight ballot initiative in financial filings with the California Secretary of State. The stadium businesses did not similarly list their opposition to the parking and event tax initiatives.

The lawsuits remain unresolved, and the initiatives are being processed by the city to see if they’ve met the standards for inclusion on the fall ballot.

The Ballmer Group is a funder of The LA Local, but their support doesn’t influence our coverage. To learn more about our funders and commitment to editorial independence, click here.  

This is a developing story and will be updated. For the most up-to-date information about the fire you can check:

• CalFire incident page
• City of Burbank
  

Evacuation orders for DeBell Restaurant and Golf Course and Stough Canyon Nature Center remain in place for a fire burning in Wildwood Canyon above Burbank.

Evacuation warnings for Churches Ct. and Country Club Drive were lifted at 6:20 p.m.

As of 5:55 p.m., the fire had burned 40 acres and 70% contained, according to Burbank.

The Walnut Fire broke out Saturday afternoon near the intersection East Harvard Road and Wildwood Canyon Road.

Hiking trails around the area are closed. The Starlight Bowl concert scheduled for tonight has been canceled.

Listen to our Big Burn podcast

Fire resources and tips

Check out LAist's wildfire recovery guide

If you have to evacuate:

• Why fire officials don't want you to stay and defend your home
• How to get packed up
• How to leave your house
• What evacuation terms mean and how to sign up for alerts

Navigating fire conditions:

• How to drive in high winds and fire danger
• How to prep for power outages
• How to navigate poor air quality

How to help yourself and others:

• Resources for fire victims, evacuees and first responders
• If you want to help fire victims, resist the urge to volunteer
• How to help find lost pets

How to start the recovery process:

• What to do — and not do — when you get home after a wildfire
• How to make an insurance claim
• How to safely clean up wildfire ash

What to do for your kids:

• How to talk to children about wildfires and losing a home
• What parents should know about wildfire air quality

Prepare for the next disaster:

• Fire season is here. Make sure you're signed up for these alerts
• Every day is now fire season. Let's get you ready for the next wildfire
• Yes, wildfires are getting worse. The history that got us to this moment

The U.S. job market unexpectedly stalled in July.

A report Friday from the Labor Department shows that employers cut 23,000 jobs last month, and job gains for May and June were revised sharply lower.

The unemployment rate dipped to 4.1%, but only because more than 260,000 people dropped out of the workforce.

It was the second month in a row that the monthly jobs tally came in weaker than forecasters had expected.

"We are increasingly hearing from workers that they are anxious about their job security and they are frustrated by the fact that they are stuck in roles that are not necessarily good for them," said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at the job search website Glassdoor. "And that's on top of workers who are not in a job right now and feel frozen out of the job market."

Glassdoor's worker confidence index slumped in July to a record low.

The Fed's job gets harder

Restaurants and retailers cut thousands of jobs last month, and local government also saw large job losses. Healthcare continued to add workers, but at a more modest pace than earlier in the year.

The softening job market may complicate the Federal Reserve's job, since it's also battling stubborn inflation. The Fed may be more cautious about raising interest rates at a time when the labor market appears less stable.

For people who are working, average wages have risen 3.2% in the last 12 months. That's likely not enough to keep pace with inflation, however, so workers' paychecks don't stretch as far as they used to.

"Part of the reason that workers are feeling bad about today's job market," Zhao says, is that "a lot of those wage gains have been eaten up by rising energy prices."

Copyright 2026 NPR

It seems that jazz is everywhere in Los Angeles. Blue Note opened a club last year, venues like Sam First, Catalina’s, Vibrato and the Baked Potato draw large crowds, and hotels and bars are adding jazz to their schedules.

But every week, a semi-secret event at the tony Los Angeles Athletic Club lets anyone experience a near-private concert from legends such as Rickey Woodard, who played saxophone for Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn and others; and Nolan Shaheed, trumpeter for Duke Ellington, Marvin Gaye and more.

That’s before you get to the evening’s singer, who might be 96-year-old pianist Betty Bryant, former Raelette Val Monroe or singer and Grammy-winning songwriter John Proulx.

Until recently, the Sunday night Jazz Salon was free. Now it charges a nominal $10 per person, which is still an outrageous bargain, so be sure to add something to the tip jar on the piano, and maybe try one of the cocktails or the steak frites.

Inside the club 

Walking into the club earlier, you see black-and-white photos of all types of healthy pursuits on the walls, as well as trophies and mementos of the club’s nearly century-and-a-half history. Plush sofas, high ceilings and book-filled shelves are the order of the day, and alongside members in gym gear or lugging laptops, you go up in one of the elevators to the third floor, where the Jazz Salon takes place.

Dave Ross, bassist and founder of the Jazz Salon.

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James Bartlett

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LAist

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The bassist who built it 

Earlier in the day, Dave Ross, 76, was setting up the amps, drum kit, mixer and mic stands. He also administers the website, acts as MC and plays double bass as part of the ensemble. He began the venture over a decade ago, when he persuaded the LAAC, of which he had long been a member, to host concerts in their redecorated restaurant and bar.

Ross draws from a repertory group of about 15 artists, and the concert takes place opposite the bar in a wood-paneled room of just a few dozen leather chairs and tables. This small scale makes the night intimate and unique.

“No gig is ever the same,” says Ross. “We don’t rehearse, and every time we play a song, we're never trying to play it the same way we played it before.”

That makes the night fun, too. Since you’re right near the musicians, you can hear their laughter and banter, as well as their impressive solos. Ross, stage left, stays out of the limelight — which is how he prefers it — and often says he's just happy to be there playing.

“You're there to keep the beat, the pulse of the music,” he says. “And then, secondarily, the notes that you play help the other musicians understand what the chord, what the harmony is. I'm just doing it for the pleasure of playing the music.”

The Jazz Salon is a $10 Sunday night concert at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

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James Bartlett

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LAist

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Why $10 barely covers it 

Once a month, Ross and some of his stable join a touring artist — recently five-time Grammy-nominee Karrin Allyson — in the club’s 250-seat ballroom for a more formal ticketed event, but there have been just two complete sellouts of them this year: tributes to Bill Evans and Dave Brubeck/Paul Desmond.

Donations and the tip jar on Sunday evenings sometimes haven’t been enough to break even, either, which led to Ross reluctantly introducing the $10 charge. No matter what, he is determined the Jazz Salon will keep going.

“When I was younger, there was a receptionist I knew who was a nun. She said: “‘You know what your problem is? You’re too optimistic!’”

Daniel Shemtob has been going around Los Angeles asking strangers this question: "What's your mom's best dish?"

He then turns their answers — from Filipino oxtail adobo to the Ashkenazi Jewish favorite of gefilte fish — into a taco for his new five-episode web series, "Better Than Your Mom."

One episode breaks from the format entirely: a head-to-head chopped salad taco challenge between Shemtob and Vanessa Silverton, daughter of famed L.A. chef Nancy Silverton, judged blind by Nancy herself.

Daniel Shemtob, founder of The Lime Truck and creator and host of Better Than Your Mom.

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Courtesy Daniel Shemtob

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A two-time winner of "The Great Food Truck Race" on the Food Network, Shemtob is no stranger to reality TV — he also founded The Lime Truck, serving Cali-Mex cuisine in Orange County.

What starts as a quick, chaotic street-corner challenge opens into something bigger — a Long Beach woman honoring her late mother-in-law's gefilte fish recipe, and a chef processing his own mother's death and the loss of his home in the 2025 Palisades Fire.

A dish for his mother

Despite loving fine dining, Shemtob said nothing beats the experience of having someone invite him to their mother's home for dinner.

"It's by far my favorite thing," he said.

Gundry watched as Shemtob reworked her mother-in-law's recipe in real time — a process that normally takes her more than two hours, done in 20 minutes.

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Screenshot via Better Than Your Mom

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That urge to connect with other people also came from wanting to celebrate his late mother's legacy and the impact she had on him in the kitchen.

"Eating was like a big part of how we shared and celebrated," Shemtob said. "It was a culture that was built around food."

A stranger says, 'yes'

While most walk past him or decline to talk, Shemtob said he's been surprised by how many strangers say yes almost immediately — like Anne Gundry, a retired biology teacher in Long Beach.

She answered with a dish from her mother-in-law from her first marriage — gefilte fish served cold.

Shemtob's take on Dena Levenstein's gefilte fish, reimagined as a taco with an apple-horseradish slaw.

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Courtesy Daniel Shemtob

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Gundry recalled her first meeting with Dena Levenstein, who would become her mother-in-law. The relationship started out cold — but cooking together changed their dynamic.

"That's where I honestly think we had the deepest bond with her," Gundry said.

Gundry described yearly visits to Levenstein's house as a cooking "apprenticeship," where Gundry was taught to cook by feel — adding ingredients by the handful, testing a dish's consistency by touch.

"She used to say, 'How does it feel?'" Gundry recalled. "And I'd say, 'I don't know, I don't know how it's supposed to feel.'"

Over the years, she learned. Now, Gundry teaches her own children that recipe the same way — without referring to what's written down.

Watching Shemtob cook on "Better Than Your Mom," Gundry was skeptical. Her own process takes over two hours; his took 20 minutes — until she tasted the apple-horseradish slaw he added.

"Brilliant," she said. "I've been trying to duplicate it at home."

You can find Shemtob's videos on his YouTube channel.