The Brief

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

On a recent weekday afternoon, cars were already parked bumper to bumper along the residential streets near Pico Boulevard. On Pico Boulevard itself, parking spots were filling up as drivers hurtled down the busy corridor. 

The corridor is lined with small businesses, from neighborhood markets and nail salons to repair shops, sign makers and restaurants. 

Business owners say they recognize Pico Boulevard has a speeding problem and can be dangerous for pedestrians.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation wants to make the corridor safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. But that will come at the expense of 228 parking spots, which are already hard to come by in the neighborhood.

LADOT will overhaul 3.5 miles of Pico Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and Figueroa Street to reduce speeding and unsafe turns and lane changes. The agency said the project is intended to improve safety by adding a center turn lane for left turns and emergency vehicles, protected bike lanes and new TOUCAN traffic signals at Manhattan Place and New Hampshire Avenue. LADOT will also repair sidewalks and curb ramps.

To make room, the city will remove parking on the north side of the street and reduce travel lanes from two to one in each direction. Construction is set to begin by the end of the year. 

An artist’s rendering of protected bicycle lanes on Pico Boulevard and Manhattan Place.

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Courtesy LADOT

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City officials say the changes are needed after years of serious crashes. Between 2014 and 2023, 75 crashes on this stretch of Pico resulted in severe injury or death. Nearly three-quarters involved people walking or riding bicycles, and all 11 people killed were pedestrians, according to LADOT.  

Jose Gonzalez, owner of Jagarhaus, a gallery and event space that has been in the neighborhood for six years, supports most of the city’s proposed improvements. But removing a full side of curb parking from a narrow commercial street does not make sense to him.

“I think it’s essential to have bike transportation,” Gonzalez said. “But I don’t think it goes over the priority of the small business community.”

“We’re killing the Main Street,” he said about the impact on the small business community. “We’re benefiting the big guys that have the parking lots and all the infrastructure.”

Gonzalez said he learned about the plan in May from another business owner, despite owning two properties on Pico and living nearby.

He is not the only business owner raising concerns.

Outreach on Pico Boulevard

Joey Bang, who has run Sign Art on Pico for two decades, said parking is already difficult for both businesses and residents nearby. 

“There already isn’t enough parking,” Bang said. “Even residents of this neighborhood park here in front because there isn’t enough parking. If they get rid of the parking out front, business will go down so much.”

Bang said he had not received any communication from LADOT before a visit last month from LADOT representatives who told him about the project. 

Bang said he’d be on board if Pico were a wider street. He’s also concerned about how construction will affect his business.

“Small businesses are already struggling,” he said. “If this goes through, Pico as we know it will come to an end.”

Vehicles travel along Pico Boulevard between Crenshaw Boulevard and Figueroa Street, where Los Angeles plans to add protected bike lanes and other safety improvements while removing parking from the north side of the corridor.

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Hanna Kang

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The LA Local

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LADOT began outreach in May 2025 and spent about a year gathering feedback from businesses and residents, according to spokesperson Colin Sweeney. The agency said it went door to door, mailed notices to 1,842 nearby addresses, distributed door hangers, met with the Byzantine Latino Quarter Business Improvement District, emailed stakeholders, conducted surveys and shared information online. Outreach materials were available in English, Spanish, Korean and K’iche.

LADOT said it reached more than 2,500 people, with 75% of survey respondents favoring a design that includes protected bike lanes.

Construction will be completed in phases over about a year. Sweeney said the city will notify residents and businesses before work begins, and LADOT will provide traffic control and detour assistance during construction.

The project is one of the major street redesigns moving forward as L.A. implements Measure HLA. 

Lorenzo Martinez, owner of Olympic Tools, learned about the project in June when someone brought him a flyer. Martinez has a few parking spaces behind his business, but said trucks still need to stop in front for deliveries.

“If trucks cannot park in the front, that will affect me,” Martinez said. “I like how it is now. I don’t really see a lot of bikes out here. I want it to stay as it is.”

Sweeney said LADOT is still making adjustments to the project, including adding loading zones, creating more parking on the south side of Pico and nearby streets, relocating some bus stops and identifying additional ADA-accessible parking. Peak-hour parking restrictions will also be removed.

How businesses interact with the neighborhood

Fashion designer Galadriel Mattei owns a brick-and-mortar clothing store on the same long block between Union Avenue and Bonnie Brae Street.

She said the lack of alleys and limited places to cross the street already make it difficult for customers to reach her business, particularly older adults and people with disabilities who need to park nearby.

She also worries customers will end up parking deeper in the neighborhood, adding pressure to already crowded residential streets. 

“With neighborhoods like this that are so densely populated, it is really always a fine line with how the businesses interact with the people who live here,” Mattei said.

A cyclist herself, Mattei said she doesn’t oppose bike lanes or other safety improvements. She agrees that drivers often speed along Pico and that the street can be dangerous for pedestrians. But her concern is that the city’s design doesn’t account for how the block actually functions.

During the school year, parking on the north side of Pico is restricted for several hours each day for student drop-offs at a nearby school, she said, forcing drivers onto her side of the street. 

Daniel Serrano, a Pico Union resident who mostly walks and takes public transit, said he supports the changes as a pedestrian.

He said reducing lanes could slow drivers and that protected bike lanes would add more space between cars and people walking. But he also said businesses deserve clearer answers about how the project will affect them. 

“This could be a good opportunity to do a financial analysis. That will also help businesses understand how this project is affecting them and that they feel included in the decision-making,” he said. 

Community members can find information on the project website or by emailing visionzero@lacity.org.

It looks like the first weekend of August is going to look a lot like most of the month of July: hot and humid.

But the coming heat wave may be especially intense.

Most of Southern California has faced repeated heat advisories over the last few weeks. Ahead of this weekend, though, the National Weather Service has issued more severe extreme heat warnings for almost the entire region. Those will be in effect from 10 a.m. Friday through Sunday evening.

Temperatures are expected to peak on Saturday, when forecasters say highs could get within one or two degrees of daily records.

Parts of the San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire will see highs well over 100 degrees. Intermediate areas between the coasts and the valleys, including downtown Los Angeles, will be mostly in the upper 80s to mid-90s. Coasts will be mostly in the 80s.

Humidity continues to add to the discomfort and make it harder to cool down at night.

Forecasters say the highest humidity will be along the coast, as high ocean temperatures drive up the moisture in the air. Those areas could see some dense fog on Friday morning.

The combination of heat and humidity will pose a particularly high risk for people over 65, young children, people who work — or spend a lot of time — outside and those without access to air conditioning.

Officials are warning against leaving children and pets in unattended vehicles. Under such extreme heat, temperatures inside a car can reach lethal levels in a matter of minutes.

Fire weather

Despite the humidity, this weekend’s heat wave is also going to drive up the risk of wildfires.

Inland areas, where the humidity is lower than on the coast, will be most prone to fires. The high temperatures, combined with possible wind, mean any fires that start could have the potential to grow large.

Wind gusts could get up to 45 mph in places, with the strongest expected along the 5 Freeway corridor near the Grapevine and in southwestern Santa Barbara County.

About 90% of California wildfires are sparked by people.

Beachgoers beware

A National Weather Service high surf advisory is in place through Saturday afternoon for all Southern California beaches — from San Diego County through Santa Barbara County, including Catalina and Santa Barbara islands.

Large, breaking waves and strong rip currents are the biggest risk to beachgoers, with the most dangerous conditions on south-facing beaches. Rip currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Large waves can cause injury, wash people off rocks and capsize small boats.

Forecasters recommend staying out of the water, if possible. If you do go swimming, stay near lifeguards, heed their advice and stay off of tidal rocks and jetties.

The heatwave is also adding to the risk as it will likely drive more people to the beach, potentially putting them in harm's way.

Forecasters also issued a coastal flooding advisory that will be in effect through much of Saturday for the SoCal coastline and Channel Islands.

Flooding is likely around high tide. It could affect low-lying areas of beaches, walkways and parking lots, but significant damage to roads or structures is not expected.

The highest tides will likely be tonight, coinciding with the peak of a storm swell from Hurricane Genevieve, which has been whirling hundreds of miles off the coast of Mexico since it formed last week.

Genevieve, along with swells from other Pacific storms, are also responsible for the waves and rip currents.

Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming Daisy Chain Fields festival in Irvine sold out brutally fast. If you missed out on tickets, you’re in luck.

The “Driver’s License” artist has partnered with the nonprofit L.A. Works to give Livies a chance at experiencing the all-woman lineup on Aug. 29. The organization is giving out 125 pairs of tickets — with a catch.

How the giveaway works

L.A. Works is determining who gets the general admission tickets through a “volunteer drive” called Daisy Chain Reaction. The drive’s events are focused on supporting women and girls in Southern California.

For a chance to win, your first step is to sign up to volunteer with L.A. Works. Then, the drive has to hit a collective hours goal for the giveaway to be “unlocked.” Between now and 7 p.m. Aug. 20, volunteers need to log at least 1,000 verified hours.

Each participant gets entered into the giveaway based on how many verified hours they volunteered. One hour counts as one entry (no maximum), so the more you volunteer, the higher your chances.

The winners will be picked through a random drawing, and you’ll be contacted via email if you get a pair. To be eligible you must:

• Be at least 18 years old at the time of winning
• Have an active L.A. Works account in good standing
• Opt in to the giveaway when registering for an eligible Daisy Chain Reaction volunteer opportunity
• Be a resident of the U.S.

Where to volunteer

The volunteer opportunities are based in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Some may have a waitlist.

Currently, there are 16 events (many of them recurring) spread out across L.A. County. That includes serving breakfast near MacArthur Park, helping with soil restoration in Altadena and passing out back-to-school backpacks in Montebello.

On the other hand, Orange County currently has just three on the roster. That includes packing food in Irvine and helping out at a STEM event for middle-school girls in Santa Ana. L.A. Works says it’s trying to add more O.C. events.

You can find all of the volunteer opportunities here — just make sure the one you pick has “DCR” in the title or mentions the giveaway in the description.

If you sign up, make sure you can attend. Participants who no-show more than one day will be disqualified from the giveaway.

Americans almost universally prefer cars with automatic transmissions, leading to a slow decline of manual car sales in the states. Less than 1% of new cars made for sale in the U.S. last year were stick shifts, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's latest motor trends report, an all-time low.

But that doesn’t mean people aren't still driving them — or at least reminiscing over the times they did.

Americans are keeping and driving older cars for longer than ever according to the Wall Stree Journal, and teens regularly learn to drive on the family beater. On a recent episode of LAist 89.3’s talk news program AirTalk, listeners shared what it is about driving a manual transmission that’s so enticing, and why they continue to.

Keeping the tradition going

Anna in Highland Park called in and said she learned to drive stick from her father in the ‘90s, and only made the switch from her manual 2007 Toyota Yaris to an automatic a few years ago. But she didn’t part with the old wheels.

“I just taught my 16-year-old daughter to drive it," she said. “Of course she didn’t when I first tried to make her learn it, but she loves it now.”

Dennis Chernyukhin, who gives stick-shift lessons to people in California through his company SHIFTR, said that a big share of his students are teenagers who sign up in order to learn on a family car.

"The parents are nostalgic about how they learned to drive when they were younger, and so they want to pass on that skill,” he said.

Terrifying lessons, lasting love

 ”We got to a red light, and my dad just got out of the car, looked at me and said, ‘Good luck, son. You're ready to go.’ He shut the door, and the light turned green, and there I was,” Jared in Silverlake said. “I was so scared, but I put it in first, I was off.”

The lesson stuck with Jared, and over time he developed a skill of listening for when to shift gears and get the best gas mileage. He drives an automatic car now, but still drives with only one hand saying, “that’s how I learned with stick.”

Feeling connected to the machine

Across the board, callers said driving a manual transmission makes them feel more in tune with the car.

Terry in Studio City said he learned to drive stick when he was 15, and now at 73, he still has never bought a car with an automatic transmission. He drives a 2003 Toyota Tacoma. People often approach him offering to buy the truck. He shoots down their offers every time.

“You’re just connected to the car," echoed John in Hancock Park. "I learned how to drive stick shift when I was 15 on my dad’s old Saab, and there’s just nothing better.”

Saving a buck on a trip abroad

Across Europe, stick shifts are more common, with about 29% of new cars sold with manual transmissions across the big five countries there, according to automotive data company JATO. They're also notably cheaper to rent than their automatic cousins, Booking.com notes.

But back before their wider adoption in Europe, automatic cars were a rarity — a lesson Mary from Indio learned after her father taught her and her sister how to drive stick.

“ We went to Europe and wanted to drive through Europe,” she said. “You couldn't even get an automatic. And so we drove through France, Italy, and Switzerland for 16 days with an Audi stick shift."

Is the end nigh for stick shifts?

Looking at trendlines, it may seem like stick shifts are soon to be a thing of the past. But Chernyukhin said that the teaching biz is pretty good, for a seemingly paradoxical reason.

“What we’ve seen is that as the skill becomes more rare, the demand increases correspondingly,” he said. “There’s no comparable experience to having a clutch pedal and a shifter and fully controlling the car.”

Listen to the full AirTalk conversation below to hear about the niche jobs that still require you to know how to drive stick.

Long Beach is hoping to help keep older residents from falling into homelessness with a new program that offers them limited rental subsidies of $400 to $500 a month.

The money, available through the Older Adult Shallow Subsidy program, is meant to temporarily reduce the burden of rent while people pursue long-term solutions, like affordable housing.

The program is for households that include at least one older adult, defined as anyone age 62 or older, or age 55 or older with a disability.

To qualify, applicants must:

• live in non-subsidized rental housing in Long Beach
• be experiencing severe rent burden (spending 70% or more of income on rent)
• demonstrate the ability to pay rent consistently with shallow subsidy assistance
• have a household income at or below 50% of the Area Median Income (That’s $58,300 for a household of one, up to $110,000 for a household of eight.)

Eligible renters may receive up to $12,000 over two years, with additional support available in extenuating circumstances.

If deemed eligible, participants will also receive light-touch case management, which includes quarterly check-ins and connection to supportive services.

How to apply

Applications are available in English, Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog here. They will remain open until all subsidy slots are filled. You can also apply in person Monday through Thursday at the Multi-Service Center or Mondays and Wednesdays at the Long Beach Senior Center.

The program will prioritize households whose existing rental assistance or housing subsidy has expired or is scheduled to expire within the next 60 days. Those include households that received vouchers, were in the rapid rehousing program, homelessness prevention program or other rental assistance programs where financial support is ending.

Other factors that could lead to an application being prioritized include urgency of eviction risk, disabling conditions, fixed-income status and prior experiences of homelessness.

The program is funded with $1.8 million from a mix of state funding secured by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, the Los Angeles County Measure A sales tax and state grant funding.

Why older adults?

Even as Long Beach has increased spending on homelessness outreach and housing services, it hasn’t been able to keep pace with the number of people falling into homelessness.

This year, 12.4% of people tallied in the annual homeless count reported they were newly homeless, up from 10.9% last year.

This year’s count also found an increase in the number of residents over 55 who were experiencing homelessness (1,096 this year compared to 1,023 last year).

“Older adults living on fixed incomes are increasingly vulnerable to housing instability as rents continue to rise across the region,” Mayor Rex Richardson said in a statement.

Other options for rental subsidies

The program is part of Upstream LB, a three-pronged city initiative announced last year aimed at preventing housing instability.

In April, the city launched its first Renter Aid Program to provide short-term rental assistance for about 250 households.

Thus far, city officials say the Renter Aid program has received more than 3,500 applications and about 50 households have been enrolled.

A separate program targeting Long Beach residents ages 18-25 who are at high risk of homelessness was originally scheduled to launch in July but hasn’t yet started. It aims to help about 50 people in its first year with a budget of $750,000.

The post Long Beach starts offering rental subsidies to older adults. Here’s how to apply. appeared first on LA Local.