The Brief

New data from the Port of L.A. for March released on Monday shows a 7% increase in exports compared to the same month last year, with 132,000 containers leaving the port despite the turmoil in the Middle East.

“That's the highest output number for the export containers that we've seen in nearly two years,” Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of L.A. “While encouraging, we have much more work to do to develop a consistent upward trend."

The overall percentage change in container traffic in and out of the port in March is in the single digits, a 3% drop compared to the same month last year. Seroka said that’s because uncertainty over tariffs a year ago led companies to scramble to get their products through ports.

The longstanding trade deficit continues

However, while there’s an upward trend in exports, the data confirms something that’s been true for years: the U.S. is in a trade deficit. In March, overseas companies sent about three times more goods to consumers here than were sent out of the port by American companies. Last month, the port processed over 380,000 incoming containers, mostly from China, Vietnam and Japan.

That trans-Pacific commerce is insulating the Port of L.A. container volume from one of the most consequential geopolitical conflicts in recent memory — the war with Iran.

“So far, it's a concern, but it's not a worry,” Seroka said.

An electric top handler moves cargo off of semi-trucks at the Port of Los Angeles.

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Joel Angel Juarez

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CalMatters

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Foreign shipping companies that do business with the Port of L.A., as well as ports in the Middle East, are doing what they can to protect their trade with the U.S., Seroka said.

“The transpacific business is the most lucrative of any east west [trade] for the service providers and shipping lines… they'll go to great lengths to make sure those supply chains remain intact,” he said.

The port is the busiest in the Western hemisphere, generating more than $300 billion in trade last year, making it an important regional and national economic engine.

But the war is affecting shipping companies and consumers in other ways. The price of gasoline has gone up, as well as cargo ship fuel, which will likely be passed on to consumers.

The directors of a beloved Los Angeles puppetry institution said Monday their theater is here to stay now that they’ve worked out a plan to buy their building.

The Bob Baker Marionette Theater has been delighting L.A. kids — and kids at heart — since 1963. But in 2019, a landlord’s redevelopment plans forced the theater to move from its original location near downtown L.A. to its current venue in Highland Park.

Co-executive director Mary Fagot said discussions to purchase the building began in 2024. Those talks have culminated in a deal to buy the building for $5 million from its owner, Capstone Equities.

Once the sale is complete, Bob Baker will be able to redirect rent money to new programming, field trips and special events, Fagot said.

“Buying the building means that we won't be subject to rent increases or even another displacement in the future,” she said. “We'll be able to go on presenting our special brand of magic, creativity and imagination, here in this location, forever.”

How puppetry lovers can help secure the deal

The theater said it has already raised $4.5 million for the purchase from organizations such as the Perenchio Foundation, the Kohl Family Foundation and the Ahmanson Foundation, as well as philanthropists and celebrities, including Wallis Annenberg, Jack Black and Tanya Haden.

Now the theater is asking the public for help raising the last $500,000, so it can close the deal without carrying debt into the future.

The news comes as new audiences have been getting to see White Cat, Skateboarding Clown, Gorgeous and all of the theater’s other distinctive puppets in action.

Bob Baker puppeteers brought their talents to Coachella last weekend. They’ll be there again this weekend, adding a dash of whimsy to a lineup that includes headliners Sabrina Carpenter, Justin Bieber and Karol G.

What’s next?

The theater is also prepping to debut its first new show in 40 years, an hour-long train-themed adventure called Choo Choo Revue.

Fagot said L.A. families are always bringing new generations of kids to their regular shows in Highland Park.

“To be able to say with certainty that this theater will be here for my kids and my kids' kids, and really for the cultural landscape of Los Angeles for generations to come — it feels like a really big deal, not just for us, but for L.A.,” Fagot said.

Rep. Eric Swalwell said Monday that he will resign his seat in Congress, a day after he suspended his campaign for California governor following explosive allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from four women, including a former staff member, published by two news outlets.

He said he would "fight the serious, false allegation made against me. However, I must take responsibility and ownership for the mistakes I did make."

Swalwell’s campaign collapsed Friday soon after the first report in the San Francisco Chronicle, in which the unnamed former staff member said Swalwell solicited oral sex from her while she was working for him and twice sexually assaulted her when she was too drunk to consent. The account was corroborated with medical records and by people the woman spoke with after the last incident, which she said took place in New York in 2024.

CNN later Friday published the same woman’s account, as well as those of three other women, one of whom said he kissed and touched her inappropriately and two of whom alleged he sent unsolicited nude photos and other inappropriate messages on Snapchat.

Dozens of supporters and staffers quickly dropped their support for him. Major unions and congressional candidates pulled their endorsements.

It was unclear when Swalwell would step down, but he said he would work with his congressional staff to ensure they are able to meet the needs of his San Francisco East Bay district, where he was first elected in 2013.

Because he is leaving the race after a state deadline to file for or withdraw from a race, his name will still appear on the June 2 primary ballot.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

Organizers of the 2028 Olympics say they want much of the millions of dollars coming in from the games to stay local.

LA28 is aiming to direct 75% of its spending to companies in the Greater L.A. region, with 25% going to small businesses. More indirect opportunities will also come to the city from large companies and national sporting federations looking to temporarily set up camp during the Olympics.

“We have to lean in and uplift these micro businesses and small businesses,” said Erikk Aldridge, LA28 vice president of impact. He was in Inglewood for a small business panel discussion at COSM on Friday.

Those targets aren’t going to be met automatically, said Michèle Turner, the associate vice president of USC’s Office of Business Opportunity.

“As big as this region is, it’s hard to find these businesses,” Turner told The LA Local. “These next two years — 820-some-odd days — are going to be crazy.”

If you have a small business and want to get in on some of the LA28 action, here’s where local business leaders say to start.

Register for RAMP LA and Compete4LA

Contract opportunities could be posted on a range of platforms.

RAMP, a contract marketplace run by the city of Los Angeles, will be the core platform for contracts from LA28 organizers, according to John Reamer, L.A.’s Bureau of Contract Administration director. The platform, as of Friday, is already populated with requests for toilet providers and equestrian course builders.

Ken Billups, a vice president for AECOM, the engineering firm in charge of venue infrastructure, said the company has a handful of facility contracts it plans to post for bids on the platform soon.

Small businesses can also connect with contractors via Compete4LA, a small business database launched Friday by the L.A. Business Council Institute in conjunction with the city of L.A. and USC.

Shore up your operation’s resume

Reamer said small businesses will need to prove they are up to the task of Olympic-related work.

“LA28, make no mistake about it, they’re looking for the best,” Reamer said. “These are the Olympics. There are going to be standards and expectations.”

Leila Lee, assistant director of the L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity, said small businesses should start now with a few non-Olympic contracts in order to beef up their resumes for the Olympics and longer-term success.

Businesses can also burnish their credentials by applying for a local small business certification from the county or city of L.A. Reamer said the city wants to take care of its own.

“There are going to be a number of businesses that come here for the LA28 games that claim to be (local) and they are not,” he said.

Get connected, get trained

Billups, of AECOM, said businesses should take time to assess the market around them, understand how they fit, and build relationships with the people who control the purse strings.

One way to network is through any of the mentorship and training programs run by government agencies and large businesses. The nonprofit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, or LISC, runs a small business accelerator program called Ascend LA.

The L.A. County Department of Economic Opportunity runs its own program called The APEX Accelerator, which offers workshops, certification and contracting help to small business owners.