The Brief

LAX is the butt of many jokes around Southern California.

People often dislike driving there because of the intense traffic and time it takes. Still, it’s an important part of Los Angeles life if you want to fly.

But what if air travel here had turned out differently? Back in the late ‘60s, eye-popping plans emerged to reshape flight in the U.S., along with a dream to create a sort of LAX extension — on an island.

The supersonic age

The aviation industry was looking into high-speed passenger flight in the 1950s — and it was a technological race the U.S. wanted to win.

Commercial supersonic travel was in early development around the world. Countries were trying to build new aircraft that could fly passengers across long distances faster than the speed of sound.

But the U.S. was losing ground to the Soviets, who were further ahead in development. That’s largely why in 1963, federal aviation officials created the supersonic transport program, also known as SST.

At this point, the U.S. still was in the mockup stage. The SST program called for aircraft that could reach at least Mach 2 with 300 passengers on intercontinental flights.

But breaking the sound barrier like that comes with very loud booms — which residents protested. Noise and environmental concerns slowly became a problem. How would these new potential planes fit into the populated LAX area?

Santa Monica Island

A map of Santa Monica Island.

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R. Donald Jaye

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Herald Examiner Collection/Los Angeles Public Library

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One answer was to construct an island off the coast. It would’ve been a few miles into the Pacific Ocean, between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey.

Architect R. Donald Jaye rendered a design of it in 1968. It included a subway route that connected the island to the main LAX airport. Travelers also could hop on a route right off PCH near Santa Monica Pier to get to the island.

The island could’ve had room for the whole shebang — a commercial area, hotels, apartments, and even an aerospace university. There also would’ve been two 15,000 foot runways, which gave the planes plenty of takeoff room.

It’s unclear how seriously city officials pursued this dream, but it clearly didn’t happen. Why?

Plans never came to fruition

The plan eventually was scrapped.

In 1968, the city of L.A. and the county decided to put all their supersonic chips in a spot north of the city, which was called the Palmdale Intercontinental Airport.

Thousands of acres were purchased for this airport, just west of Air Force Plant 42. While a small terminal opened in 1971, it doesn’t have commercial service today. The city of Palmdale hopes to bring it back, according to its website.

Ultimately, while the U.K. and France jointly introduced the supersonic Concorde in 1976, commercial supersonic development fell apart in the U.S. mostly because the SST program became pretty controversial.

Part of this was because of how the aviation industry and policymakers handled the program’s negative ramifications, like intense sound levels and pollution.

According to physicists Joel Primack and Frank von Hippel in “Advice And Dissent: Scientists In The Political Arena,” there were active attempts to hide information from the public, including suppressing unfavorable reports and commissioning others to criticize or supersede them.

After years of backlash, Congress canceled the SST program in 1971.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

On a hot September morning, a handful of elders moved between tables of fresh fruits and vegetables on the Korean Resource Center’s back patio, picking up groceries as trot music played in the background.

Some sat together, chatting as they waited for a raffle. Organizers gave away bags of rice, containers of kimchi and other staple groceries in the Koreatown community.

It was the second “Sijang,” Korean for market, a mutual-aid food distribution program launched by KRC over the summer.

Sijang and other community efforts like it come as businesses and residents adjust to changes in CalFresh, California’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Stricter eligibility requirements and changes to how benefit are provided took effect Oct. 1, adding to the challenges facing low-income families across the country.

In Los Angeles County, about 1.5 million people receive CalFresh benefits, while another 320,000 are eligible but aren’t enrolled, according to the latest available data.

As more residents struggle to afford food, community markets like Sijang can help connect them with groceries.

“Groceries are commonly an item that is cut and people historically rely on community and social networks like churches and charity and grassroots mutual aid programs, where social welfare program and public institutions fail,” said Danny Park, who spearheads the program.

Sijang is organized in partnership with Polo’s Pantry and the Hollywood Food Coalition. The next marketplace is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 23. KRC says no one will be turned away.

Park said it grew out of the center’s work with residents and conversations with members and staff experiencing economic hardship.

“In our pilot day of Sijang … close to 50 people from family to seniors were lined up before we opened our doors, a sight that is not uncommon in Koreatown and Los Angeles,” Park said.

Bags of groceries at the Korean Resource Center during its Sijang mutual-aid and community marketplace event on Sept. 18.

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Hanna Kang

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The LA Local

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KRC’s work has given the organization a close look at the financial pressures facing residents. In 2025, the center helped 4,286 people enroll in public assistance programs, including EBT, General Relief and Medicaid, Park said. Staff handled an average of 18 enrollments each day.

Food insecurity remains widespread across Los Angeles County. A USC Dornsife study published in December found that 24% of county households experienced food insecurity last year.

KRC staff sometimes help elderly residents take cans and bottles to recycling centers to earn money, Park said.

One neighborhood over in Pico Union, With Love Market & Café is also trying to help residents afford food. But the changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, have hit the business hard, said Anna Cho-Son, the market’s community programs director.

Most of With Love’s customers use EBT, she said, and the market has seen a decline in EBT users since the changes took effect.  The market has also lost contracts after some of its partner organizations lost funding.

The market is owned by 38 investors from the community and loses money on groceries, Cho-Son said. It has relied heavily on EBT spending, and the decline in customers using those benefits has compounded other financial challenges.

“We lose money on groceries, and so we were really relying on a lot of EBT dollars,” she said. “But obviously, people are not able to spend as much money as they were previously.”

Asked how the market is preparing for the full impact of the SNAP changes, Cho-Son said, “We’re deeply not prepared for it.”

With Love is trying to help customers stretch their grocery budgets through a produce incentive program called With More California. The program, which operates as a localized extension of California’s Market Match initiative, matches SNAP spending on California-grown produce, Cho-Son said, allowing customers to receive up to $40 worth of free produce a day.

Cho-Son said the market has been increasing outreach at schools and community colleges because many people who could benefit from these programs do not know they exist.

Customers who do use the program regularly return to buy produce, she said.

“I think the biggest and most important metric is that people come back, and they come back specifically for that program,” Cho-Son said.    

She added the market is also looking for ways to build a more sustainable local food system, rather than relying entirely on temporary grants and emergency food assistance.

“I think as we’re trying to do these emergency programs, we’re aware that food is obviously such an immediate need,” she said, “but in the long term, that’s not going to fix anything.”

The Korean Resource Center

With Love Market & Café

Fall is here, and so are the cozy, seasonal drinks. If you’re looking to skip out on chain lattes and support local instead, this guide is for you.

Whether you’re a pumpkin spice lover or not, these Eastside cafes have a variety of drinks and pastries to choose from.

Cafe Niña

Add a ghost design to your drink at Cafe Niña.

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Courtesy of Cafe Niña

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What started as a home-based coffee shop in Boyle Heights has now expanded to a brick-and-mortar location in East Los Angeles. Find their fall menu at both locations. If you’re looking for spooky vibes, ask for a ghost design on the inside of your cup.

• Pumpkin pillon latte: Pumpkin with piloncillo
• Durazno Latte: Peach cobbler-inspired latte

Acurrúcame Café

The pumpkin spice latte is made with fresh pumpkin and espresso at Acurrúcame Café.

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Courtesy of Acurrúcame Café

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This cafe is known for specialty drinks available only to customers who order in person. Its pumpkin spice matcha and latte are available now, while the Franken-Berry latte and the Beetlejuice matcha will be available starting September 26.

• Pumpkin spice matcha or latte: Made with fresh pumpkin and either matcha or espresso
• Franken-Berry latte: Made with espresso and blueberries
• Beetlejuice: Matcha made with blackberries

Semillas Café y Flores

Maple brown sugar shaken espresso from Semillas Café y Flores.

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Courtesy of Semillas Café y Flores

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Pair your fall pastries, including maple pecan blondies, ginger molasses cookies or a slice of pumpkin loaf with your choice of fall drinks:

• Carrot cake latte: House-made spiced carrot syrup, espresso, cream cheese cold foam with pecan crunch topping
• Manzanita tonic: Spiced apple cider, tonic water, espresso, house-made canela syrup with apple crisp topping
• Canelita cold brew: House-made canela syrup, Chiapas cold brew with cinnamon cold foam
• Maple shaken espresso: Maple syrup, sea salt, espresso shaken with ice, topped with a splash of milk and maple cold foam

Cafe Cafe Mobile Coffee

The butternut squash latte topped with cookie crumble from Cafe Cafe Mobile.

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Courtesy of Cafe Cafe Mobile

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Not a pumpkin spice lover? Cafe Cafe Mobile has you! Its butternut squash latte has been a crowd favorite during the fall season.

• Butternut squash latte: An ode to pumpkin spice but with butternut squash spices, topped with cookie crumble.

Cake Girl

Pumpkin spice cold brew from Cake Girl.

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Courtesy of Cake Girl

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Anhelo Coffee

For all the cookie butter and piloncillo pumpkin lovers out there, Anhelo Coffee has you covered:

• Cookie butter latte: Cookie butter blended with espresso; iced version available with cream top and sprinkled with crushed Biscoff cookies.
• Piloncillo pumpkin spice latte: House-made piloncillo pumpkin spice syrup blended with espresso.
• Piloncillo pumpkin spice cold brew: Cold brew coffee topped with house-made piloncillo pumpkin spice cream.
• Cookies & cream matcha: Matcha blended with cookies and cream

California Community Colleges announced an agreement Thursday with Arizona State University that creates a guaranteed transfer pathway for students.

In recent years, ASU has been rapidly expanding, “growing with no end in sight and expanding well beyond the state's borders,” as AZ Central put it. For California community colleges, the new agreement offers a new option for students who struggle to transfer to the California State University and University of California systems.

For over a decade, California community college students could enroll in a two-year associate degree of transfer after it was codified in law. There are about 60 ADT options students can do. The law envisioned that if students completed that program, they were guaranteed admission to a California State University campus. In recent years, that guaranteed transfer degree has also let students transfer to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

What transfer options do students have?

But the transfer process is not an easy one.

A state audit of the transfer process in 2024 found that only 21% of students who started at a California community college between 2017 and 2019 transferred to a four-year university within four years of starting their ADT program. The audit pointed to “financial insecurity, family responsibilities, and an inability to relocate.”

Another reason: CSU and UC had complicated transfer requirements that were difficult for students to navigate. And transfer students weren’t always offered their first-choice CSU or UC school — so even if they got into a CSU or UC school, sometimes they didn’t go because it was not in the region they were applying to.

The audit also found:

• every community college did not offer all ADTs
• all CSU campuses did not accept all the ADTs
• not all community colleges offered counseling to make sure students had the required number of units to transfer. 

The Arizona State option

Enter ASU with a golden ticket, literally.

At a signing ceremony at their center downtown, ASU officials demonstrated — printed-out tickets in hand — how ASU was going to guarantee a degree pathway for every student who completes the ADT.

 ”The plan here is to try to increase transfer, increase completion of baccalaureates in equitable ways for Californians,” said James Todd, chief academic officer at the California Community Colleges.

“ What makes this unique is this is the most comprehensive ADT partnership that has existed for the California Community Colleges,” said Jeff DeFranco, special advisor to the provost at ASU. “Arizona State University is accepting all 60 associate degrees for transfers. So we're saying we're accepting all these, and those 60 actually lead and open you up to nearly ... 100 different degree options.”

Students who choose to transfer to ASU can enroll on campus in Arizona, do the program online or opt for ASU Local, where you do your coursework online but you have a weekly meeting with your fellow students and ASU staff.

“ What ASU could provide is, for instance, let's say you can't leave your community, and this was the case for many students: childcare, supporting an intergenerational household, work commitments, whatever was going on — sometimes they can't leave,” he said. “ASU has more than 200 bachelor's degrees online, and that is very unique.”

Californians will decide on more than a dozen ballot initiatives this November, covering a wide range of proposals focused on housing, taxes, recall elections, voter identification and more.

One ballot measure would approve an $11.25 billion bond for affordable housing; another would create a new down payment assistance program for homebuyers. Proposition 40 would establish a one-time 5% tax on the net worth of billionaires in California, while two other propositions would limit new taxes and potentially nullify Prop. 40. Other ballot measures, if approved, would change the recall election process in California, require identification to vote and speed up the environmental review process for certain developments.

It’s a lot of information to wade through on your own.

That’s why LAist unveils its Voter Game Plan each election season, with guides to help you cast a ballot that aligns with your values and beliefs. (The one thing we don’t do? Tell you how to vote. That is up to you.) For the Nov. 3 general election, LAist is also hosting a series of ballot cram sessions focused on helping you make informed decisions.

The series kicked off on Wednesday with AirTalk Host Larry Mantle and a panel of experts focused on the long list of statewide propositions in a one-hour cram session.

Michael Alvarez, professor of political and computational social science at CalTech; Sara Sadhwani, associate professor of politics at Pomona College, and Lee E. Ohanian, a professor of economics at UCLA and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, provided an overview of each ballot measure. The trio described the pros, cons and stakes of every decision Californians face this November, including the confusing and conflicting trio of tax measures you’ll see on your ballot as Props. 40, 41 and 42.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty as to how much revenue this might generate. There’s a lot of uncertainty, in particular, if it’s going to generate revenue in sufficient time to help the Californians who are really in need of having healthcare,” said Alvarez on Prop. 40, which would create a one-time tax on billionaires to fund healthcare.

Lee and Sadhwani both noted that there's a question of whether the tax would drive billionaires out of the state. “If you think that super high wealthy people should be paying more in taxes, there’s better ways to do this,” said Lee.

As for Prop. 41, which would require audits of new tax programs, and Prop. 42, which would ban new taxes on personal property, the panel agreed the measures are confusing.

Both propositions would nullify Prop. 40 if they receive more votes in support than the billionaire tax measure. That’s the big thing to remember, said Sadhwani: “They’re really the poison pills of Prop. 40, the billionaire’s tax. So a yes on 41 or a yes on 42 is a no essentially for Prop. 40.”

“I’ll be honest, Prop. 41 as well as Prop. 42 kind of makes my eyes glaze over,” said Sadhwani. Alvarez added that the measures make his head spin. Experts — they’re just like us!

LAist’s upcoming voter cram sessions will focus on judicial elections and Orange County.

You can find LAist’s Voter Game Plan and dozens of guides to the Nov. 3 election here at LAist.com/Vote