CHP officers face off demonstrators while clearing the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the early morning hours of May 2, 2024.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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Topline:
Hundreds of law enforcement officers in riot gear cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Thursday, firing flash bangs and dismantling barriers.
A California Highway Patrol spokesperson, Steven Salas, said 132 arrests were made as of Thursday morning, although that number could grow.
Where things stand: UC President Michael Drake on Wednesday said he ordered an independent outside review of UCLA's planning and actions surrounding the overnight violence between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters.
On campus: After initially forming a line and holding it, officers began to move more aggressively before 5 a.m., pushing back protesters holding makeshift shields and lobbing items at the police line. In short order, they cleared dozens of protesters who had set up on the front portico of Royce Hall, where pro-Palestinian graffiti had been spray painted on the ornate stone doorways and scores of flyers taped on pillars and screwed into the barricaded front doors.
Other reactions: A group of faculty and staff are demanding in a letter to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block that peaceful protesting students do not face disciplinary action and that the encampment be allowed to continue without an “illegal” designation. The letter concludes by warning that a one-day work stoppage has already been proposed by the Faculty for Justice in Palestine group as they’re prepared to deepen their support for students.
What's next: Since disbanding the encampment, crews have been working to clean up the debris and graffiti.
Hundreds of law enforcement officers in riot gear cleared out a pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA early Thursday, firing flash bangs and dismantling barriers.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block released a statement Thursday confirming that 200 people were arrested. UCLA associate professor Graeme Blair told LAist that around 10 of those arrested were faculty members.
A tense standoff at UCLA has officers begin making arrests early Thursday and dismantling a pro-Palestinian encampment that went up a week ago.
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Brian Feinzimer for LAist
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After initially forming a line and holding it, officers began to move more aggressively before 5 a.m., pushing back protesters holding makeshift shields and lobbing items at the police line.
In short order, they cleared dozens of protesters who had set up on the front portico of Royce Hall, where pro-Palestinian graffiti had been spray painted on the ornate stone doorways and scores of flyers taped on pillars and screwed into the barricaded front doors. By 5:15 a.m. the encampment was clear, with only a small contingent of protesters remaining.
A CHP officer tears down tents while clearing the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the early morning hours of May 2, 2024.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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CHP officers face off demonstrators while clearing the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the early morning hours of May 2, 2024.
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Brian Feinzimer
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LAist
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The initial police action began about nine hours after the first order to disperse was made. Law enforcement first declared the protest an unlawful assembly about 6:15 p.m. Wednesday night.
Then by around 3:15 a.m. Thursday, officers began breaking down tents and dismantling plywood boards to remove a makeshift barrier wall erected by protesters in the week since the encampment went up.
By the time CHP officers removed most barricades along the east side of the encampment, the number of protesters had thinned significantly in the early morning hours.
Earlier, the LAPD told LAist that the CHP would be leading the operation, but the department and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department also had a heavy presence on campus. Many students said ahead of the move by police that they were willing to be arrested.
Block, who held a special UCLA Alumni Town Hall on Thursday, said the protests had been overall peaceful, but that the encampment became a focal point for serious violence.
"It left us with very strong feelings. The fact that the encampment represents not only a risk to the students inside the encampment, because it's very hard to protect their security unless you have a very large number of police continually guarding the encampment," Block said during the virtual town hall.
When asked if university disciplinary action would be taken, Block said it’ll be on a case by case basis.
“It's very different, obviously someone who's actively resistant and may have even, you know, really assaulted to a police officer though. Some of those are quite serious and should have consequences clearly” Block said. “I should emphasize students were all free to leave before they became arrested. They were told to leave the encampment, and many did just walk out and leave. So this was really a choice. It wasn't the police surrounding them and they (were) stuck. They could leave.”
The university will also continue to investigation the attack overnight Tuesday by counterprotesters and the security measures employed, Block said.
Earlier in the night
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators lined up in anticipation of law enforcement clearing the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the early morning hours of May 2, 2024.
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Brian Feinzimer
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As a police helicopter circled overhead for hours, many people on campus wore face masks. Some even had gas masks, saying they were worried police or counterprotesters would use tear gas or pepper spray on them.
The move to clear the encampment came after a night of violence from Tuesday into Wednesday.
UCLA canceled classes Wednesday after students and journalists reported that counterprotesters attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment, leading to more than a dozen injuries. Then, Wednesday evening, UCLA officials said classes would be remote Thursday and Friday and employees were "encouraged to work remotely." They also advised people to avoid Royce Quad, where the protests are taking place.
UC President Michael Drake, who oversees the University of California system, said Wednesday that he ordered an independent outside review of UCLA's planning and actions surrounding the overnight violence between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and counterprotesters.
Inside the encampment after police declared an unlawful gathering
Pro-Palestinian protesters work together to screw signs onto barricaded front doors at Royce Hall on UCLA's campus Wednesday night. Protesters said they were concerned police could come through the building into the encampment.
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Brian Feinzimer for LAist
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As officers moved around outside of the encampment — an area fortified by plywood — protesters and observers remained largely calm.
Many people inside the encampment wore construction, bicycle or other types of helmets in anticipation of another confrontation with pro-Israeli counterprotesters or police.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators observe law enforcement massed outside of the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the late evening hours of May 1, 2024.
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“Most people are getting ready in case the cops try to do something violent against them,” said Mahmoud Abobaker, a 28-year-old film and TV major who is Palestinian American. “Everybody is expecting something.”
The mood was at once anxious and festive, with a couple of drummers and a trumpet playing near one end of the camp. Others chanted slogans in support of Palestine. A small group of Muslims got on their knees as a man chanted the traditional call to prayer over a bullhorn.
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrators sleeps ahead of law enforcement clearing the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the late evening hours of May 1, 2024.
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UCLA student Sydney Do helps pass out food from Muslims of LA to pro-Palestinian demonstrators at the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the early morning hours of May 2, 2024.
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Several Palestinian flags blew in a light breeze. Many wore Keffiyehs.
Some people lounged inside their tents. Others walked about the encampment visiting with friends. Still others secured the plywood they’d put up on around the perimeter.
Around 10 p.m., a large number of people not involved in the camp rallied outside of it in support of the students.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pray at the Palestine solidarity encampment at Dickson Plaza outside of Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in the late evening hours of May 1, 2024.
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All the while, majestic Royce Hall, much of it covered in pro-Palestinian graffiti and signage, stood witness to it all.
Sarah Adams, who works for UCLA’s humanities department, said she was on the outskirts of the encampment in the early hours of Thursday “to watch out for our students and protect them and be there for them as best as we could.”
“A lot of us are tired, we're angry, we're upset at our university, we're upset at the way that students who pay tuition and staff and faculty who give their labor, who care so much about the school, the way that we've been treated by our school,” Adams, a trained medic, said.
Blair, an associate professor of political science, was one of the faculty members arrested during the dispersal.
He said he shared a jail bus with some of the arrested students and was “amazed by their resilience in the face of the horrible, violent attacks by outsiders and their focus on their mission.”
L.A. Mayor and others condemn violence
The scene Wednesday night at UCLA.
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Brian Feinzimer for LAist
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Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement Wednesday that she met with various law enforcement agencies, including LAPD and UCPD, about the “absolutely detestable violence on campus.”
“There must be a full investigation into what occurred on campus last night,” Bass said in a statement. “Those involved in launching fireworks at other people, spraying chemicals and physically assaulting others will be found, arrested, and prosecuted, as well as anyone involved in any form of violence or lawlessness. I want to make sure the message I delivered to law enforcement and other officials earlier today is clear: Free speech will be protected. Violence and bigotry will not.”
In his statement, Drake said the external review would also look at the effectiveness of the mutual aid response and will help address many immediate questions and guide possible future events,.
“Through the early morning hours, mutual aid was summoned from the LAPD and others to help UCLA restore control,” Drake said. “Unfortunately, there are a reported 15 injuries, including one hospitalization. The situation has been stabilized and UCLA Chancellor Gene Block has reiterated that, having declared the encampment unlawful yesterday, he will dismantle it at the appropriate time. My office has requested a detailed accounting from the campus about what transpired in the early morning hours today.”
What happened overnight Tuesday into Wednesday
The Los Angeles Times reported that the violence started close to midnight when a large group of counterprotesters tried to tear down the makeshift barricades surrounding the encampment.
Videos sent to LAist from students on the ground show the counterprotesters launching fireworks into the encampment and using what appears to be bear spray at the pro-Palestinian protesters. Television news footage and images on social media showed some students bleeding from wounds and flushing their faces with water.
Felicia Ford of Inglewood told LAist she arrived shortly after midnight and saw people fighting with bats and poles. She also said fireworks were thrown into the encampment.
"That's not what represents the people that are protesting for a change of what's going on in Israel and the Gaza Strip," she said, adding that once police arrived, they "shut it all down."
Officers in riot gear reportedly arrived around 1:40 a.m., but students said they did not immediately intervene as counterprotesters continued to attack the camp.
Demonstrators restore a protective barrier at an encampment on the UCLA campus, the morning after clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, on May 1, 2024.
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Jae C. Hong
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Raymond Durr, a third-year student studying data theory and economics, said counterprotesters have been the agitators.
"The pro-Palestinians are the ones who get punished with threats by the chancellor of disciplinary action, including expulsion, because of the general violence, but we're not the ones causing the violence, so why are we the ones who are getting punished?” said Durr, who identifies as half-Palestinian.
He added that he’s happy with the increased police presence on campus.
"I hope that they stay the night to stop the (pro) Israeli counterprotesters from attacking the encampment," he said.
Tai Min, a 20-year-old sociology major, told LAist that a mob of hundreds of people descended on the encampment with weapons.
“We have folks who had to get sent to the ER,” Min said. “We had a lot of folks who were pepper sprayed, bear maced. There’s folks in the ER with like blunt force trauma.”
The UCLA First Thursdays event scheduled for May 2 in Wilson Plaza has been canceled because of the “distress following the violence on Royce Quad and ongoing tension regarding campus demonstrations,” the university announced Wednesday afternoon.
The backstory
Students and demonstrators have formed a Pro-Palestinian occupation encampment protest on campus at UCLA in front of Royce Hall on April 25, 2024.
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The encampment on UCLA's campus was set up last Thursday, with pro-Palestinian demonstrators demanding an end to Israel's assault on Gaza and divestment by the university from companies. Unlike an earlier encampment across town at USC, UCLA protesters fortified their area with plywood and pallets.
On Sunday night, pro-Israeli protesters set up a counter protest that included a giant screen playing images of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
After some clashes Sunday, a university spokesperson said UCLA would increase security measures. In addition to canceling classes for Wednesday, the university said Royce Hall and Powell Library would remain closed.
Reporting from the scene
Reporters on the ground, including student journalists from the student-run Daily Bruin newspaper, say law enforcement was called in but did not intervene until after the violence broke out. LAist has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department for comment.
It has been 4 hours since the violence erupted on campus. This violence has been allowed to continue, instigated and continued by counter-protesters, unstopped. Injuries all night long. Cops are watching it continue right now. This is a colossal failure by the powers that be. pic.twitter.com/HOxSzVGYTk
According to the Daily Bruin, the university declared the encampment “unlawful and violates university policy.”
In a message to the Bruin community on Wednesday afternoon, Chancellor Gene Block said:
“However one feels about the encampment, this attack on our students, faculty, and community members was utterly unacceptable. It has shaken our campus to its core and — adding to other abhorrent incidents that we have witnessed and that have circulated on social media over the past several days — further damaged our community’s sense of security.”
He added, “I want to express my sincere sympathy to those who were injured last night, and to all those who have been harmed or have feared for their safety in recent days. No one at this university should have to encounter such violence. Our student affairs team has been reaching out to affected individuals and groups to offer support and connections to health and mental health resources.”
Block said in the statement they will conduct a thorough investigation that may lead to arrests, expulsions, and dismissals. He noted that they’re also carefully examining UCLA’s security processes and encouraged people who’ve encountered violence to report their experiences to UCPD, and those who’ve faced discrimination to contact the campuses’ Civil Rights Office.
“This is a dark chapter in our campus’s history,” Block said in a statement. “We will restore a safe learning environment at UCLA.”
But some students said they haven't heard from the university about the injuries they sustained.
Aidan Doyle, a philosophy and jazz student, told LAist he had a battery thrown at his right cheek.
"As I was trying to keep the metal barriers attached to the barricade, I was dragged out into a group of six men who whipped my back, who attacked me with sticks, who punched my face, and who slashed me with a sharp metal rod," he said.
Aisha Syed, who is part of UCLA's Muslim Student Association, described the pepper spray and fireworks as causing "a burning sensation in my eyes, my mouth, and my throat. It settled into my hijab and into my other clothing, so much so that when I finally went home hours later, that stinging feeling was still there."
The encampment at UCLA on Wednesday, May 1, 2024.
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Frank Stoltze
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Nancy Mithlo, a professor who teaches gender studies, told LAist that she’s disappointed in how UCLA has handled the protests.
“They refused to protect our students that were engaging in civil disobedience, were engaging in their right to free speech, that were doing actually what we want them to do here,” Mithlo said.
A group of faculty and staff are demanding in a letter to Block that peaceful protesting students do not face disciplinary action and that the encampment be allowed to continue without an “illegal” designation. The letter concludes by warning that a one-day work stoppage has already been proposed by the Faculty for Justice in Palestine group as they’re prepared to deepen their support for students.
In an interview Wednesday morning with NPR, reporter Steve Futterman said "things have really calmed down" after high tension overnight.
"A few hours ago it was anything but," he said, "there were pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israeli counterprotesters essentially facing off. There were numerous scuffles, lots of pushing fist fights, nasty words exchanged."
Samuel Ahmed, a first-year graduate student who is part of UCLA's encampment, told LAist that the community within the camp is feeling "more resolute and more willing to fight for what we're fighting for.”
Ahmed said the violence started around 10 p.m. Tuesday when masked counterprotesters showed up to the encampment, which he said is made up of about 300 tents.
"All of a sudden, people, 30 or 40 students [in the pro-Palestinian camp], just fall to the ground covering their eyes screaming for help," he said. "From there, it was just a nonstop onslaught, a barrage of weaponry just attacked at us, bricks just slamming at our barriers. This persisted for several hours while the university police, the private security they had hired to somehow keep the peace, just stood idly by watching."
Students inside the encampment were starting to wake up shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday, with one person picking up trash and a strong skunk smell lingering in the air.
Gov. Gavin Newsom said in statements that his office was closely monitoring the situation at UCLA and that he condemns the violence that unfolded.
"The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus," Newsom said in a statement. "Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension, or expulsion."
Bass said she’s spoken with Newsom and thanked him for his continued support.
Muslim community leaders respond
Amir Mertaban, the executive director of Islamic Society of Orange County reached UCLA at around 1:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. He said community leaders in the Muslim community were responding after receiving multiple calls, messages, and texts from students in the encampments.
“I saw was something that I never thought I would ever see in L.A. and that was students getting attacked, and at night, with the lights on, masked students with pepper spray, bear spray, mace, pipes, bats,” Mertaban said. “I never thought I would see this level of violent attacks on students at UCLA, while UCPD, the LAPD, the Sheriffs, Highway Patrol, all had their backs turned while this was happening right behind them.”
Many of the students, he said, had to be transported to hospital by car.
Mertaban added that doctors from the Muslim community also rushed to UCLA overnight to set up a makeshift medic tent within the encampment with milk, saline and other supplies.
“The Muslims, Palestinians and their supporters are concerned for the safety of our communities,” he said. “We haven't seen this vitriol and violence since 9/11.”
Mertaban said he visited the encampment over the weekend too and “nothing violent is happening.”
UCLA Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
How we're reporting this
LAist reporters Yusra Farzan and Frank Stoltze reported from the campus throughout the day. Stoltze remained on the scene until late Wednesday. Makenna Sievertson reported from LAist's newsroom. Farzan wrote and reported earlier in the morning from sources at the camp and official statements. Karina Gacad, Tiffany Ujiiye, Megan Garvey and Jason Wells have done editing on this breaking news coverage.
This is a developing story. We fact check everything and rely only on information from credible sources (think fire, police, government officials, community organizers and reporters on the ground). We do our best to verify the information being provided is accurate. Sometimes, however, we make mistakes and/or initial reports turn out to be wrong. In all cases, we strive to bring you the most accurate information in real time and will update this story as new information becomes available.
Fiona Ng
is LAist's deputy managing editor and leads a team of reporters who explore food, culture, history, events and more.
Published April 1, 2026 12:00 PM
Tennis courts featured in an April Fools' Day social media post by Irvine.
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City of Irvine / Instagram
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Topline:
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today — from the city of Irvine going "pickle-ball" only, to the Huntington Botanical Gardens announcing it'll be bottling the scent of the famed corpse flower as a perfume.
Why now: Before you go "what the what" — remember today's the first day of April.
Read on ... to find a roundup of some of the April Fools' jokes from your city and local trusted institutions.
Many Southern California cities and institutions are dropping big, grabby news today. Before you go "what the what" — remember, it's the first day of April.
Here's a roundup of some of the April Fools' news dump items.
Irvine, the 'pickleball-only' city
Irvine announced that it'll be converting all tennis courts into pickleball courts by 2027. That's one notch for Team Pickleball in the ongoing turf war between tennis lovers and pickleball players over the fight for court space to engage in their beloved sport.
"Starting today, April 1, all tennis courts are being converted to pickleball courts as part of a citywide effort to make Irvine a pickleball-only City by 2027," the post stated. "We don’t just think this is a good idea … we dink it’s a great one."
Over in Long Beach, Mayor Rex Richardson announced the city's reigning royalty, the Queen Mary, will be renamed after another queen.
"After careful consideration, I am proud to announce that the Queen Mary will officially be renamed the RMS Queen Latifah," he said. "Long Beach is stepping into a new era as a major music destination — with a new amphitheater, a deep cultural legacy, and a future built on sound. It’s only right that our most iconic Queen reflects that energy."
In real-real news, LBC native and everyone's favorite Olympics commenter Snoop Dogg is headlining the grand opening show of the Long Beach Amphitheater in June. That's the new waterfront venue near the RMS Queen Latifah.
Suspense writer James Patterson has more than 200 novels to his name, selling more than 450 million copies. If anyone deserves his own namesake branch, it would be Patterson, no?
The Los Angeles Public Library certainly dinks so, announcing today the James Patterson Canoga Park branch, "with wall to wall Patterson books and programming centered around this prolific author."
The opening of the corpse flower has become an annual event at the Huntington Botanical Gardens. The event brings legions hoping to get a whiff of the famed flower's "pungent aroma."
The San Marino institution announced that it's bottling the scent, as part of its new "The Huntington's Stank Collection."
"A musky gym sock note opens this unique fragrance, with a sweet, rotten-egg base to ground it. Smells like you – but smellier," the post explained.
Payton Seda
is an associate producer for AirTalk and FilmWeek, hosted by Larry Mantle.
Published April 1, 2026 11:30 AM
We curated some great spots to thrift throughout the region.
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Becca McHaffie
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(Unsplash)
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Topline:
Southern California is home to a vast array of vintage boutiques, thrift stores, and resale shops. Here are the hottest recommendations from our most avid thrifters.
Palm Springs is a apparently a thrifting hot spot. This thrift chain has locations throughout the Coachella Valley.
Read more... for lots of other secondhand spots.
Los Angeles may not be the fashion capital of the world, but it could contend for best thrift, at least in our humble opinion!
The key is knowing where to look.
Here are some of the best thrift and resale stores in different parts of Southern California according to our listeners and (very stylish) LAist colleagues.
The pinnacle of Pasadena and open every third Sunday of the month, the flea market houses 400 vendors with goods ranging from antique furniture to unique second-hand clothing.
If you’re looking for more affordable clothing and household items, Delaine Ureño, LAist senior institutional giving officer, frequents Hotbox Vintage in South Pasadena.
This thrift shop in San Pedro is owned and operated by the Peninsula Chapter of National Charity League and comes recommended by Mel in the South Bay, who says proceeds support local charities and scholarship funds.
This thrift store rec near Elysian Park comes from Lulu in Glendale, who says shoppers can grab a cute pair of pants along with unique furniture to put them in.
Anything on Long Beach’s aptly named Retro Row is worth hitting, according to AirTalk producer Manny Valladares. His favorite spot is Far Outfit. They have unique finds mostly from the early 2000s with a self-described “weird” factor.
With several locations throughout Orange County, including Costa Mesa and Aliso Viejo, LAist reporter Yusra Farzan recommends Laura’s House, noting they have a great curated collection and proceeds help domestic violence victims.
Old Towne Orange is home to many great thrift stores and antique malls. If you’re looking for some good streetwear and sports jerseys, Timeless Vintage is a good choice. They have a great selection of 90s Looney Tunes and Disney graphic tees as well.
Another O.C. favorite is a fairly new addition to downtown Fullerton. Retropolis has a wide selection of apparel, but I like to go there for their chunky 80s sweaters and colorful jackets.
“[Eco Thrift] has really good discount days on top of already affordable clothing,” said Dañiel Martinez, LAist’s Weekend Edition producer. “Tons of good vintage and designer finds hidden in the racks.”
“I went to Palm Springs where they have some of the best thrifting,” said AirTalk listener Monica in Artesia. She bought a pair of Ferragamo shoes for just $8.
Kevin Tidmarsh, LAist’s All Things Considered producer, specifically recommends Revivals, a thrift chain with locations throughout the Coachella Valley.
611 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
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The storefront at Echo Park Eats, which rents ghost kitchens to 40 restaurants.
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Jarrett Carpenter
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Crosstown
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Topline:
Some of Los Angeles’s most iconic eateries — Papa Cristo’s in Pico-Union, Guerrilla Tacos in Downtown and French eatery TAIX in Echo Park — have closed their doors, prompting hand-wringing about the decline of the city’s rich and diverse food scene. But those closures obscured a more notable achievement; 758 new restaurants opened last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2024, when 729 restaurants opened.
Self service and delivery apps: The explosion of digital-order services has rewritten the business model for restaurants, which are now operating with less space, reduced staff and tighter margins. Many of the new eateries do much of their business from behind a screen — either through self-service tablets or off delivery apps such as DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.
Ghost kitchens: Ghost kitchens, or private kitchens used exclusively for delivery and takeout, have become a business model of their own. At Beverly Bites, 56 restaurants operate out of one facility serving the densely populated Beverly Hills and Beverlywood neighborhoods, though not all of them are open simultaneously. At Echo Park Eats, 40 restaurants are now within a five minute walk of Dodger Stadium.
Some of Los Angeles’s most iconic eateries — Papa Cristo’s in Pico-Union, Guerrilla Tacos in Downtown and French eatery TAIX in Echo Park — have closed their doors, prompting hand-wringing about the decline of the city’s rich and diverse food scene.
But those closures obscured a more notable achievement; 758 new restaurants opened last year, surpassing the previous record set in 2024, when 729 restaurants opened.
The split-screen view of dining in Los Angeles is part of a broader transformation that is reshaping the industry nationwide.
The explosion of digital-order services has rewritten the business model for restaurants, which are now operating with less space, reduced staff and tighter margins. Many of the new eateries do much of their business from behind a screen—either through self-service tablets or off delivery apps such as DoorDash, GrubHub and Uber Eats.
So-called “limited-service” restaurants now account for nearly a third of all newly opened establishments. The number of traditional, or full-service, restaurants has also been growing, hitting 539 openings in 2025, and a record-high 587 the year before. If you count the number of coffee, smoothie and snack joints, the numbers rise even further.
Pizza to go
Many of Los Angeles’s restaurateurs are adapting to this burgeoning business model. Last year, Liz Gutierrez turned her pop-up restaurant, Fiorelli Pizza, into a small brick-and-mortar location in Beverly Grove with just a couple of stools at a counter for seating. As she saw restaurants closing their doors, the advantages of the new business model quickly dawned on her.
“This was something that could be operated with minimum labor, it could be way more manageable in terms of fixed costs and expenses, and we could still deliver restaurant-quality [food],” Gutierrez said.
The bevy of new food establishments opening their doors is a lone bright spot in an otherwise bleak economic picture: The total number of new businesses opening in the city is nearly half what it was a decade ago. That is driven in part by some of the same forces, such as Amazon.com, Inc. and other online retailers that put pressure on businesses operating out of traditional storefronts.
But the flourishing restaurant industry has been able to buck that trend so far. While Amazon can deliver clothes and even groceries, it still can’t deliver a fresh pizza or poké bowl.
The QR code will take your order
Linchi Kwok, a hospitality management researcher at Collins College of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, said a lack of interest in working in the hospitality industry, paired with rising labor costs, has pushed restaurant owners to find cost-effective workarounds to run their operations with fewer people.
“Limited-service restaurants don’t have to hire many people to do the work. It saves labor costs, saves space, and saves the service turn-around time. They don’t have to worry about it,” Kwok said.
Restaurants must share a portion of their already slim profit margins—usually between 2-4% in L.A.—with an app service and the driver. To offset that, restaurants have cut down on staff, letting go of waiters, hostesses and dishwashers, many of whom are no longer needed when orders are increasingly being delivered in disposable containers.
Despite the record number of openings, running a restaurant in the city has not gotten any easier. Jot Condie, president and chief executive of the California Restaurant Association, noted that in 2024 taxable restaurant revenue hit $11 billion, which, when adjusted for inflation, is on par with 2012 levels.
“The piece of the pie that each restaurant gets is slimmer.”
Condie also said that the hollowing out of entertainment work, increased presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and stricter regulations “are conspiring against the L.A. restaurant scene.”
Condie said that regulations from city hall, such as stricter labor oversight and a proposal for a $30 minimum wage for some workers, are making it even tougher.
“The business environment is bad generally in L.A., but the city council and the mayor seem to be throwing salt in the wound.”
As the number of new restaurant openings has spiked, so have the number of closings reported to the city. However, business closure figures are not as reliable as business opening data, as some establishments close without reporting it to the city. Since 2021, 593 full- and limited-service restaurants have reported closing, compared with 3,148 openings.
Jimmy Chu spent several years working in fine dining, which inspired him to start his own restaurant. He knew it would be expensive. Rather than opening another fine-dining establishment, he opted for a limited-service restaurant where customers could order at the counter, no waiters involved.
Chu quit his job by the end of 2024, and in May 2025, he opened Bomb Hot Dog in Downtown Los Angeles. He estimates that his eatery gets roughly a third of its customers through mobile delivery orders.
Ghost kitchens
Ghost kitchens, or private kitchens used exclusively for delivery and takeout, have become a business model of their own. At Beverly Bites, 56 restaurants operate out of one facility serving the densely populated Beverly Hills and Beverlywood neighborhoods, though not all of them are open simultaneously. At Echo Park Eats, 40 restaurants are now within a five minute walk of Dodger Stadium. The Los Angeles Dodgers schedule was hung on the wall inside the facility, so owners can anticipate heavy foot traffic and delivery orders during home games.
Last December, Ali Elreda rented out a space for his Mediterranean-Mexican fusion restaurant, Fatima’s Grill, at Echo Park Eats.
Elreda operates four brick-and-mortar Fatima’s Grill locations, and this is his first time renting a ghost kitchen. He said the decision to start a delivery and takeout location was both a matter of savings and efficiency.
“A lot of people are going the ghost-kitchen route because it’s quicker, it’s faster,” Elreda said. “You avoid a lot of overhead and foot traffic and having to find staff these days with the expensive economy out there is kind of tough.”
With ghost kitchen facilities, business owners also no longer have to compete with each other to find prime real estate in Los Angeles.
“You don’t have to do that research where you’ve got to find the right location. It’s just right there waiting for you,” Elreda said.
How we did it: We examined more than 15 years of business license data reported to the Los Angeles Office of Finance. Have questions about our data or want to ask us something? Write to use at askus@xtown.la Hyperlocal News
It's been more than one month since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran. The war has widened bitter ideological divides among Iranians in and outside the country over whether the conflict has been justified.
Lost opportunities: The commonality among most Iranians NPR spoke with is that they feel they have lost opportunities — to make a living, to voice their opinions, simply to live — under the current government, which they say must go. One man said, "Iran's security forces … took everything from us. They only give pain." However, another man said "There is no such thing as hardship in Iran. Everyone lives freely, woman or man."
Some remain hopeful: Nearly all the Iranians traveling in Turkey who spoke to NPR said they are hopeful about Iran. They have immediate plans to return to their country and stressed that they are not leaving it. Bout as one Iranian university students said, "The war should never have started. But now that it has, the U.S. and Israel should finish it," meaning toppling Iran's regime.
VAN, Turkey — It has been more than one month since the U.S. and Israel began bombing Iran. The U.S. says it has hit more than 10,000 targets. But U.S.- and Norway-based human rights groups estimate that at least hundreds of Iranian civilians have also been killed.
The war has also widened bitter ideological divides among Iranians in and outside the country over whether the conflict has been justified.
"There is difficulty [with the bombing], but we are not that weak," says one Iranian woman from Tehran, traveling to Turkey for a short break, given that her work has stopped due to the U.S. and Israeli bombing of the capital city. "In the past few years, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] has proved to us that we cannot trust them. But we were in war with Israel in the summer [during the 12-day war], and we saw how precise their targeting was, so we trust them."
"We are going to build a nuclear bomb now, because there's no fatwa against it anymore," interjects an Iranian man, overhearing her remarks, referring to a rumored religious ban on nuclear weapons issued by Iran's former supreme leader, whom Israel assassinated with U.S. help at the beginning of the war in late February.
Like all the Iranians in this story, the two people asked to remain anonymous. They have received texts from the Iranian government and have seen signs coming out of Iran warning them not to speak to foreign media on pain of arrest.
A microcosm of divergent opinions
Just across the border with Iran, in eastern Turkey, the Turkish city of Van is just as full as during prewar times, with thousands of Iranian workers, consulate employees, students and tourists, who are traveling despite the war in their home country. Van has also become a microcosm of the full range of divergent opinions that Iranians have about the war.
"There is no such thing as hardship in Iran," says one Iranian man, who crossed into Turkey for his job last week. "Everyone lives freely, woman or man."
Next to him, a second Iranian man looks at him, wide-eyed and shaking.
"In two days, the government killed 40,000 people," the man says, referring to a government crackdown in January on protesters. A U.S.-based human rights group has confirmed over 7,000 deaths, but many Iranians believe the death toll is far higher.
NPR has not been able to travel and report inside Iran, so it has been interviewing Iranians traveling through border areas, including in eastern Turkey.
The dozens of Iranians NPR has interviewed transiting through Van may not be representative of all Iranians in the country. Many Iranians in Van are those wealthy enough to travel. But there are also poorer Iranians working, often under the table, in Turkey. A few Iranians I met and interviewed say they are heading off to study abroad.
The commonality among most Iranians NPR spoke with is that they feel they have lost opportunities — to make a living, to voice their opinions, simply to live — under the current government, which they say must go.
"Our pain is something you have to feel for yourself [to understand]," says one Iranian man who has been working in Turkey for the last year. He spent the previous seven years in prison, he says, after being accused of being an anti-Islamic heretic. "Iran's security forces … took everything from us. They only give pain. They are pain incarnate," he says, so much so, he is willing to lose all he has, even his family in Iran, for his government to be wiped out.
"The war should never have started," says one Iranian university student. "But now that it has, the U.S. and Israel should finish it," she says, meaning toppling Iran's regime.
"Met with bullets"
Some Iranians who support the war against their own country say their perspectives are indelibly shaped by that government crackdown in early January. This year's killings of demonstrators finally made them realize, they say, that decades of popular resistance would never change their government.
"Three of my own friends were killed" in the crackdown, says one Iranian man. He crossed into Turkey last week to earn money, more than he could make in Iran. "My friends were all young. I knew them all my life. Yet the government killed them so easily."
"Every two years, there is a big protest," he says. Research from Stanford University published this year found thousands of instances of dissent over the last decade and a half, averaging to one protest every three days inside Iran.
But this time, his hometown, in Iran's western Kermanshah province, was brutally punished by government paramilitary groups for people in his town participating in January's protests.
"It is as if my town has been burned down. Nothing is left of it," he says. "I see no future for my children in Iran." His only hope now, he says, is a foreign intervention. "Our only hope is Trump. Our only hope is that Trump and Bibi [Israel's prime minister] make the right moves."
"We are scared of the bombing," an Iranian woman says. "But we are happy thinking that there might be a light at the end of this darkness. When our young people went out and protested this January, they were met with bullets. With slaughter. With executions."
Nearly all the Iranians traveling in Turkey who spoke to NPR said they are hopeful about Iran. They have immediate plans to return to their country and stressed that they are not leaving it. Migration data from the United Nations shows fewer Iranians are leaving Iran for Turkey than before the war.
"We are not fleeing," says one young Tehran resident. Even though she almost lost an eye in the anti-government demonstrations this winter, she says she is going back to Tehran in a few days. "We are determined to rebuild our country, and if the government changes, I will work, for free if needed."
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