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The Brief

The most important stories for you to know today
  • Underground car scene a big attraction and danger
    dozens of young people gather in the middle of the street, many holding their phones up and recording video on their phones; there is smoke rising up in the air nearby, which glows green and red in the streetlights
    Street takeovers have surged in L.A. County since the pandemic lockdown in 2020, despite expanded enforcement from county leaders aimed at reducing them.

    Topline:

    Street takeovers have surged in L.A. County since the pandemic lockdown in 2020, despite expanded enforcement from county leaders aimed at reducing them.

    Where do these takeovers happen? A USC Annenberg analysis of social media posts, livestream footage and Sheriff’s Department data shows that the majority of takeovers in Los Angeles County happen in District 2, represented by County Supervisor Holly Mitchell. Cities and unincorporated areas from South Los Angeles to north Long Beach are the most affected by takeovers.

    What happens at a street takeover? These illegal gatherings happen frequently on weekend nights throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Cars block major intersections and create space for other drivers to perform reckless maneuvers, including burnouts and donuts. Spectators gather around and film the events.

    How are they organized? Street takeovers are highly organized by close-knit groups with assigned roles. Some are in charge of letting the crowd know on Instagram about new locations, others monitor for police activity and some acquire stolen vehicles. 

    Read on ... for more on this growing trend.

    Key findings

    • Street takeovers have surged in  L.A. County since the pandemic lockdown in 2020, despite expanded enforcement from county leaders aimed at reducing them. 
    • An analysis of social media posts, livestream footage and Sheriff’s Department data shows that the majority of takeovers in Los Angeles County happen in District 2, represented by County Supervisor Holly Mitchell. Cities and unincorporated areas from South Los Angeles to north Long Beach are the most affected by takeovers.
    • Street takeovers are chaotic and carry many costs including looted businesses, damaged infrastructure and injuries to adults and teens. 
    • Street takeovers are highly organized by close-knit groups with assigned roles. Some are in charge of letting the crowd know on Instagram about new locations, others monitor for police activity and some acquire stolen vehicles. 

    Dillon was just 12 years old when his uncle took him to his first street takeover.

    “It was like the first time going to an amusement park,” he said. Pure exhilaration. Cars spinning. Smoke in the air. “People literally do not care.”

    If you live in Southern California and you’ve never heard of a street takeover, you’ve probably heard one: Engines rev, tires screech and fireworks explode. These illegal gatherings happen frequently on weekend nights throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties. Cars block major intersections and create space for other drivers to perform reckless maneuvers, including burnouts and donuts. Spectators gather around the middle of “the pit,” filming cars spinning past with passengers hanging precariously out of windows.

    Fueled by a social media feedback loop, the phenomenon took off during the pandemic, and events can attract hundreds of spectators. The crowds, often made up of minors, seek out street takeovers to find community. They know the risks, which can be deadly.

    A USC reporting lab investigation found that local and state law enforcement are well aware that takeovers have surged, but they have struggled to curb them. Talk to people who live near popular takeover intersections and you will learn about scarred streets, mangled poles, looted stores, injured bystanders and tragic deaths.

    How an injury at a takeover led to online fame

    A collage shows dozens of screenshots from social media video of street takeover.
    To report this story we analyzed 400 social media videos of street takeovers in the L.A. region.
    (
    USC Open-Source Intelligence Reporting Lab
    )

    Dillon was hooked after that first night in 2019. He loved the thrill of rushing away whenever the police showed up and speeding down residential streets to the next address shared in the group chat. He found new friends in the scene, brought old friends with him and often stayed out until 6 in the morning. (LAist is using a pseudonym for “Dillon,” who asked he not be named due to concerns the takeover community would be hostile if it knew he spoke with reporters.)

    One night in November 2024, Dillon, then 17, was standing in the crowd at a takeover in north Long Beach when a Corvette entered the pit.

    “Everybody saw him coming in hot,” Dillon said. “He was coming in hot as f--k.”

    The Corvette drifted toward Dillon. He threw himself backward, only for the crowd to push him back toward the car. As the Corvette swung back toward him, Dillon jumped into the air in one last effort to avoid being hit.

    “I landed, feet planted, smack on the middle of the hood,” he said. He then fell to his knees and made eye contact with the driver, who didn’t slow down. “I saw him turn the wheel more.”

    The driver’s maneuver flung Dillon onto the ground, and his car spun over his arm. Dillon bounced up and ran away while other spectators followed, filming him.

    “Not even my pinky would move,” he said. “I was just freaked out, like my arm might actually be gone. It was just dead.”

    His friends put him into a car and sped to the emergency room, where he was sedated and sent to surgery. When he woke up, his grandparents were there, along with the police. He said he refused to give up the identity of the person who hit him and the officers left. The doctors were not optimistic about his recovery and told him he’d be very lucky if he ever got to use his arm again.

    Dillon’s injury did not stay private. Footage from that night was shared and reshared across the vast network of social media accounts devoted to street takeovers. USC’s analysis shows the more violent the footage, the more traction it gets, and Dillon’s accident was gruesome. After his friends tagged him in some of the posts, his Instagram profile blew up, and he now gets as many as 1.1 million views a month.

    His skin-and-bones injury made him a social media celebrity.

    We analyzed social media data. Here’s what we learned about takeovers

    Takeovers are not just documented on social media; their popularity is driven by it. Hundreds of accounts on Instagram and TikTok are dedicated to takeover content, with footage livestreamed and then posted and reposted. That content creates a feedback loop, leading to more takeovers in Southern California and across the nation.

    Social media posts and streams also provide plenty of data for analyzing the phenomena.

    The University of Southern California’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Reporting Lab reviewed more than 500 social media videos of takeovers in Los Angeles and Orange counties. Our team determined the precise locations for 400 videos of takeovers between 2020 and 2025 and found more than a dozen repeat hotspots. The city of Los Angeles was the location of 36% of the social media content we verified, while the city of Compton accounted for 29%.

    Explore the mapped data

    Go deeper: How we investigated Los Angeles street takeovers

    Forty-eight of the videos featured at least one person getting “smacked” by a vehicle, with 14 of those incidents involving someone getting run over.

    The use of laser pointers, usually aimed at drivers, at takeover events was common, showing up in 84 videos, while fireworks appeared 30 times. Larger fires, including cars set ablaze, appeared at least another 30 times. More than 65 videos featured cars destroyed in some fashion.

    In the course of our investigation, we also reviewed more than 93 hours of takeover footage posted on the streaming service Kick by livestreamer Conner Remaly. He did not respond to our interview requests, but his stream led our reporters on a Sunday night over the summer to multiple takeover spots, including the intersection of Santa Fe Avenue and Dominguez Street in Carson, where the roar of engines trumpeted the start of the action. The noise was deafening; our sound meter registered levels as high as 109 decibels, right at the threshold to cause pain.

    a silhouetted figure crouches and looks on as a car spins around in an intersection as smoke billows up all around
    Street takeovers are chaotic and carry many costs including looted businesses, damaged infrastructure and injuries to adults and teens.
    (
    Kevin D. Reyes
    /
    USC Open-Source Intelligence Reporting Lab
    )

    Local residents, visibly annoyed, emerged from their homes to see the commotion. Hundreds of spectators cheered and jeered, many of them appearing noticeably under 18 years old. We observed attendees huffing nitrous oxide out of balloons and smoking weed and cigarettes. Some people shined laser pointers and lit fireworks, pointing them at the center of the action — known as the "pit" — the crowd, the sky and each other. There was a mix of distinct burnt smells: rubber, fireworks and marijuana. It was an adrenaline-charged, disorienting environment.

    At local businesses near takeovers, break-ins and ransacking 

    Takeovers like the one we witnessed are a public health issue for the surrounding community, according to Damian Kevitt, executive director of Streets Are For Everyone, an organization that advocates for pedestrian and cyclist safety.

    “You can't sleep,” he said. “You can't function.”

    Local businesses across Los Angeles and Orange counties suffer too.

    Last year, a Compton bakery was ransacked during a takeover, and the business had to deal with more than $40,000 worth of stolen goods and damage. Some businesses, like the Felix Chevrolet near USC, have suffered damage multiple times; the dealership had its windows broken in 2024 and a takeover participant rolled away an iconic Felix statue this summer.

    In our analysis of Remaly’s Kick stream, we observed 27 instances of break-ins and/or looting between June 15 and July 11, in Bellflower, Compton, Long Beach and South Los Angeles, along with the unincorporated areas of East Rancho Dominguez and Florence-Firestone.

    Andrew Swank, an officer with the California Highway Patrol, told us just “being at a takeover is illegal.” He said once someone is participating in a takeover, additional illegal activity is common, adding, “It just all kind of goes downhill into the criminal element.”

    A staple of SoCal culture that took off during the pandemic

    Street takeovers are a California original, born from the same automotive culture that produced classic car shows, car clubs, Chicano lowriders and drag racing.

    The earliest versions of street takeovers were called sideshows, and they took shape in Oakland in the 1980s. What started as informal gatherings where residents showed off their restored American muscle cars and performed stunts, soon evolved into vibrant community events.

    Over time, sideshows became takeovers, spreading into the streets, influenced in part by films like Grease and The Fast and the Furious, along with the video game Grand Theft Auto V, all of which glorified street racing around Los Angeles.

    During the COVID-19 pandemic, takeovers ballooned in popularity, with the scene spreading across the United States. Young people had spent so much time in lockdown “sitting and watching and not doing” that they released all that pent-up energy into the streets, said Johnathan Lawson, a car enthusiast who is working on creating a legal venue for takeovers.

    According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states have enacted new laws since 2020 that target “exhibition driving,” which includes street racing and takeovers.

    The deadly consequences

    Here in Southern California, injuries have been common, and sometimes drivers hit many people at once.

    “They call it striking, like bowling,” Dillon said. “Everybody goes flying like bowling pins.”

    In November 2024, two 19-year-olds, Efrain Rodriguez and a person described as Richmond D. in court records, were run over by a driver performing donuts at a takeover in Anaheim.

    An extremely graphic, close-up video of the aftermath made the rounds on social media. We were unable to track down Richmond, and Rodriguez did not respond to requests for comment, but his sister described his condition on a GoFundMe page seeking $50,000 for medical care: “Rodriguez had to recover from multiple fractures in his shoulder, hips and spinal cord” and has had many surgeries, “including skin grafting.”

    They call it striking, like bowling. Everybody goes flying like bowling pins.
    — Dillon

    On the night of Christmas 2022, Elyzza Guajaca was watching a street takeover at Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue, in South Los Angeles, when she was struck by a Camaro. She was taken to the hospital and died from her injuries. She was 24 years old. The driver, Dante Chapple Young, fled the scene, but authorities tracked him down the following month in New Mexico. In August 2025, he was sentenced to 13 years in state prison for vehicular manslaughter, as well as assault with a deadly weapon, his car.

    The fatalities at takeovers are not limited to drivers hitting spectators.

    In November 2021, hundreds of spectators gathered for a takeover at the intersection of Bullis Road and Pine Street in Compton. Among those spectators were 22-year-old Juan Antonio Orozco and 19-year-old Javier Carachure Menchaca, both of whom were shot and killed in a car at the scene. Orozco’s body was discovered with the car door open and one foot on the ground. Menchaca’s body was found a few steps from the car. He had been shot from behind.

    Karen Orozco says she still thinks about her brother every day.

    “He had such a big heart,” she said. “He would always think of others before himself.”

    No arrests have been made and the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department case remains open. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors is offering a $60,000 reward for information on the homicides.

    For some, the takeovers mean community

    To outsiders, street takeovers may appear as chaos just for the sake of chaos. The reality is more complicated — and organized.

    Takeovers are not just random weekend throwdowns. They are often organized by close-knit groups of young people with assigned roles: Some send out addresses; others monitor for police activity; others are sometimes charged with acquiring “stolos,” or stolen cars; while others, known as “spinners,” drive the cars and perform the stunts. Social media is a big part of the process, with a lot of the filming done by spectators, aka “servers.”

    Street safety advocates say the gatherings often attract young people who are drawn in by the thrills and stay for the sense of belonging. 

    “This is their support network,” said Kevitt, of the nonprofit Streets Are For Everyone. “They don’t care if it’s legal or illegal. They’re just there for camaraderie.”

    Our interviews with participants confirmed this sentiment. Dillon went to takeovers to hang out with friends. We heard from other participants that the community feels like family.

    Law enforcement’s response

    Those working to curtail takeovers know that tapping into that sense of belonging has to be central to solutions.

    “We’re talking about youth who have found community with each other,” said Lili Trujillo Puckett, founder of Street Racing Kills. “You have to educate them. You have to help them. You have to talk to them.”

    Trujillo Puckett’s connection to the issue is personal. In 2013, her daughter was killed riding in a car that crashed during a street race.

    Both Trujillo Puckett and Kevitt, of Streets Are For Everyone, are involved in L.A. County’s Street Takeover Reduction Workgroup, a collaboration between law enforcement and other organizations inside and outside of the government. The group released an action plan in February 2025, focusing on various solutions, including changes to road infrastructure and stronger legal enforcement. The most recent update of the plan was published in December 2025.

    The plan calls for installing barriers at popular intersections to deter cars from a skidding maneuver known as "drifting." The estimated cost is $10,000 for each leg of an intersection.

    They are not popular with takeover enthusiasts. In June, Remaly posted a video from the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Compton Boulevard, a popular takeover spot that now has plastic barriers running along its center lanes. In the clip, he held his arm out of the car window and grabbed hold of a barrier.

    “This is the s--t that ruined the spot,” he said. “We can’t have fun no more.”

    Some takeovers now happen one block north at Atlantic Avenue and San Luis Street.

    A few miles from that intersection, at Alameda Street and El Segundo Boulevard, California Highway Patrol officers swarmed a takeover in the early morning hours of July 12. According to CHP Capt. Joe Diaz, officers made 28 arrests and issued 16 citations that day, along with towing 25 vehicles and seizing three firearms. Diaz said the show of force was not a new approach, but Remaly and another Kick streamer were shocked by the number of patrol cars that showed up with blaring sirens and flashing lights.

    “Oh, my god, there’s so many,” said Remaly, filming as he ran back to his car.

    If you organize, participate or you are a spectator, you’ll face consequences. If you’re the audience, you are also contributing to the problem.
    — L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell

    “I’m telling you right now,” one street participant said, “the police don’t do s--t at all. The only thing they do is show up, turn on their sirens, and everyone leaves.”

    Participants don’t necessarily go home after the police arrive at an intersection. They often just move to the next address, or “addy,” and start up the action again. Our analysis of Remaly's Kick stream found an average of seven successful takeovers each night he filmed.

    County Supervisor Holly Mitchell’s district, which extends from Koreatown to the South Bay, was the location of 74% of the takeovers on the stream. She told us she believes accountability is critical, across the board.

    "If you organize, participate or you are a spectator, you’ll face consequences," she said. "If you’re the audience, you are also contributing to the problem.”

    For some safety advocates, the larger solution can be found in providing youth with legal alternatives to taking over streets.

    “No matter how many arrests, no matter how many times these guys go to jail, there’s always somebody new coming into the scene,” said Fabian Arroyo, longtime member of the Brotherhood of Street Racers, an organization formed in 1960s South Los Angeles to channel street racing into safe, legal events. “The best way to solve the problem is to have everybody go to a place, a venue somewhere where they can just do it legally.”

    Donald Graham, the deputy chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, agrees.

    “We live in a county where the city of Long Beach turns their entire downtown into a Formula One racetrack every year,” Graham told us. “So how can we not figure out a way to use the existing infrastructure to do pop-up tracks and pop-up burn boxes to allow people to express themselves in this way, but do it safely?”

    Authorities have their eyes on the social media promoters

    In February, police arrested Erick Romero Quintana, on allegations the 22-year-old helped organize takeovers. Romero Quintana ran the Instagram account @privatemeetz, which prosectors said shared locations for 16 gatherings across South L.A. between December 2022 and November 2023.

    One of the gatherings he allegedly promoted was the Christmas night takeover at Crenshaw Boulevard and Florence Avenue where 24-year-old Elyzza Guajaca was killed. Prosecutors argue Romero Quintana’s social media activity played a central role in drawing large crowds to this and other high-risk events. He is charged with 16 counts of conspiracy to commit reckless driving. If convicted, he could face more than a decade in prison.

    L.A. County District Attorney Nathan Hochman discussed Romero Quintana’s case at a press conference in August and emphasized Romero Quintana was not the driver.

    “He was the promoter, the social media promoter, who thought that by hiding behind his computer, by hiding behind the internet, we weren't going to find him. Maybe he thought we didn't care about what he was doing on social media to go ahead and promote this illegal, destructive and ultimately deadly type of practice. But we do care,” Hochman said.

    Romero Quintana currently is banned from social media as a condition of his release and is due back in court in January. He did not respond to our request for comment, but his attorney, Bart Kaspero, said he believes the case sets a dangerous precedent.

    “I’ve never seen anyone charged just for posting videos where crimes happen,” he said. “It’s kind of like passing out flyers to a house party.”

    Quintana’s case is part of a larger push by L.A. officials to hold social media companies and users accountable for profiting off videos of street takeovers. County officials have contacted social media companies and asked them to remove posts that promote illegal activity. We reached out to Meta, the parent company of Instagram, but did not receive a response.

    Deputy Chief Graham also spoke at Hochman’s press conference, lamenting that the city still saw three young people die this year in “street racing-related activities.” Then he called out social media executives.

    “You are monetizing this criminal, dangerous and deadly behavior,” he said. “So maybe, just maybe, before you cut a check, maybe look at the content that you're sending out.”

    The message driven home by Hochman, Graham and other speakers was that there will be consequences for everyone in the takeover scene: drivers, organizers and spectators.

    "Enough is enough," Hochman said. “We will not yield the streets.”

    The question remains whether participants will listen to that message.

    “I don’t think things will change,” said Dillon, after we texted him about Hochman’s comments. He recently bought a car and is now a driver at takeovers.

    Another street takeover participant wrote back, “And yet we will STILLL be outside EVERY WEEKEND.”

    Credits

    This story was produced by the University of Southern California’s Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) Reporting Lab, an initiative of the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, with editing support from LAist.

    Over the course of six months, the USC team archived and analyzed 400 videos, mostly from Instagram, and watched over 93 hours of footage on the livestream service Kick. You can read about the reporting process here.

    Primary reporting team:

    Additional reporting support:

    • Raima Amjad
    • Lyla Holland Bhalla-Ladd
    • Zain Khan
    • Chieh-Yu Lee 
    • Isaac Vargas

    Editing:

    Other support:

  • O.C. Japan Fest, corgi beach day and more.
    A corgi dog runs through a field with its tongue out

    In this edition:

    O.C. Japan Fest, corgi beach day, the grunions are back, a new play festival, a talk with Sen. Cory Booker and more of the best things to do this weekend.

    Highlights:

    • Experience sakura season without leaving the area at the O.C. Japan Fair, featuring 250 vendors, craftspeople, food booths, art activities and more, all celebrating Japanese culture.
    • Check out readings of five new plays – all for free! – at the Play L.A. New Works Festival, put on by Stage Raw and the Greenway Arts Alliance along with a number of L.A. indie theater powerhouses.
    • Spend Friday night with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, whose new book, Stand, tells stories from his political life that aim to share “actionable insights” to help preserve democracy in these challenging times.

    I hope you had luck in securing the first round of LA28 Olympics tickets — and that you’re not still waiting for page refreshes this morning! We’ve got all the info on how to get your tickets and why you shouldn’t fret if it doesn’t work out on this first try.

    LAist’s Mariana Dale went to Hollywood High School this week to see how students and teachers felt about Mitski bringing a concert to the historic space. Seems like no one was missing class since perfect attendance meant a shot at tickets.

    No matter your music taste, there’s a show for you this weekend. It may not be the height of summer yet, but things will be heating up at the Hollywood Bowl as Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler reunite for their concert performance of Broadway hit The Last Five Years. Plus, Licorice Pizza recommends Mercury Prize-winning London rapper Dave at the Palladium, St. Paul & the Broken Bones are at the Belasco, Calum Scott plays the Wiltern, and there’s a really cool First Fridays night at the Natural History Museum with dub legend Adrian Sherwood. Saturday has pop trio LANY at the Intuit Dome, Lamb of God slaughtering the YouTube Theater, SoundCloud rapper Rich Amiri at the Fonda, post-hardcore band Hail the Sun at the Wiltern, pop sensation Nessa Barrett at the Masonic Lodge, and another rising pop star, Alexander Stewart, at Chinatown’s cool new venue, Pacific Electric.

    Explore more from LAist: Check out the latest L.A. chefs who are nominated for a James Beard award, or follow the space trail if you were inspired by the new Ryan Gosling film, Project Hail Mary.

    Events

    O.C. Japan Fair

    April 3-5
    O.C. Fair & Event Center
    88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa
    COST: FROM $16.78; MORE INFO

    Experience sakura season without leaving the area at the O.C. Japan Fair, featuring 250 vendors, craftspeople, food booths, art activities and more, all celebrating Japanese culture. From sake tastings to sushi-making workshops to musical performances and kimono try-ons, the annual event is one of the largest Japanese cultural fairs in California.


    Play L.A. New Works Festival 

    April 3-4
    Greenway Court Theatre
    544 North Fairfax Ave., Mid-City
    COST: FREE, MORE INFO

    Poster for PLAY LA Festival with the date April 3-4 2026
    (
    PLAY LA Festival
    )

    Check out readings of five new plays — all for free! — at the Play L.A. New Works Festival, put on by Stage Raw and the Greenway Arts Alliance, along with a number of L.A. indie theater powerhouses. This year’s plays are Stonewall’s Bouncer by Louisa Hill, produced by The Victory Theatre; At Olduvai Gorge by India Kotis, produced by The Odyssey Theatre Company; Ghost Play by Mathew Scott Montgomery, produced by InHouse Theatre; The Incident by Rachel Borders, produced by The Road Theatre Ensemble; and Three Dates by Erica Wachs, produced by IAMA Theatre Company. Go see one, or go see them all!


    SoCal Corgi Beach Day 

    Saturday, April 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
    21351 California 1, Huntington Beach 
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

    A corgi dog runs through a field with its tongue out
    (
    Vlad D
    /
    Unsplash
    )

    Head to Huntington Beach for the cutest event of the year, the annual SoCal Corgi Beach Day. This year’s theme is "Tiki Beach Pawty," because of course it is. Honor Queen Elizabeth II’s favorite pets and spend the day at the beach with these short, stout, snuggly friends while they frolic and compete in events like — I am not making this up – Corgi Limbo.


    Plaza Mexico Celebrates Easter 

    Sunday, April 5, 12:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    3100 E. Imperial Highway, Lynwood
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

    A poster for Plaza México Easter Celebration 2026
    (
    Plaza México
    )

    You have your pick of Easter Bunny photo ops and egg hunts around town, and Plaza Mexico would be a great one with the family. Meet and take a picture with the Easter bunny, enjoy kids' arts & crafts, family activities, vendors and sweet treats.


    Writers Bloc: Cory Booker

    Friday, April 3, 7:30 p.m.
    John Adams Middle School (JAMS) Performing Arts Center
    2425 16th St., Santa Monica
    COST: $33; MORE INFO

    Cory Booker seated looking past the camera
    NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 05: Senator Cory Booker attends PBS' "Black & Jewish America: An Interwoven History" Screening With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. And Conversation With Sen. Cory Booker at 92NY on February 05, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
    (
    Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
    /
    Getty Images North America
    )

    Spend Friday night with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, whose new book, Stand, tells stories from his political life that aim to share "actionable insights" to help preserve democracy in these challenging times. The conversation with Writers Bloc will be hosted by Sean Bailey, the former head of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production for 14 years and the current CEO of the new multi-platform production company B5 Studios. The event is sold out, but there is a waitlist available.


    Behind the Canvas — An Exclusive Art Talk with the Jurors of A Woman's Place: Framing the Future

    Saturday, April 4, 11 a.m. 
    Ebell of Los Angeles 
    741 S. Lucerne Blvd., Mid-Wilshire
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

    Poster for the Behind the Canvas event
    (
    The Ebell
    )

    Have coffee and doughnuts with the curators of the Ebell’s Women’s History Month exhibit, "A Woman’s Place: Framing the Future." You can catch the show before it closes and see work from women artists exploring new interpretations of womanhood, feminism and art.


    Grunion Run 

    Saturday, April 4, starting at 10:30 p.m.
    Venice Breakwater
    Ocean Front Walk, Venice
    COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

    Piles of fish on the sand where the water meets. There are people crouching and taking pictures with their phones.
    Thousands of grunions on the shore.
    (
    Courtesy of the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
    )

    I have lived in Venice for more than 20 years and never actually seen a grunion, despite efforts, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun to see all your neighbors scouring the beach by moonlight on a Saturday night. The Venice Oceanarium folks always organize an educational tent with lessons on how these unique fish show up on our shores to reproduce, and maybe you’ll luck out and time it right this year.


    She’s Auspicious

    Saturday, April 4, 7 p.m.
    Broad Stage
    1310 11th St., Santa Monica
    COST: FROM $40; MORE INFO 

    L.A. native Mythili Prakash takes the Tamil dance form Bharatanatyam to new heights as a choreographer and performer. Her short dance film Mollika, commissioned by Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage in London, was nominated for a 2025 National Dance Award for Best Short Dance Film. She’s Auspicious, her latest production, "blurs the line between goddess and woman, exploring the dichotomy between celebration of the goddess versus the treatment of women in society." It was nominated for an Olivier Award in the category Best New Dance Performance in the U.K., and lucky for us, is on for one performance only at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

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  • Trades workers say they're owed raises
    Diverse students walk on a concrete walkway with a glass pyramid in the background.
    Cal State Long Beach is one of the 23 CSU campuses where Teamsters-represented workers held a strike last month.

    Topline:

    The California Public Employment Relations Board (has issued a formal complaint against California State University trustees over the system’s alleged refusal to give raises to trades workers. The complaint follows a statewide strike earlier this year, in which workers at every campus walked off the job.

    Why it matters: Teamsters Local 2010 represents 1,100 plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, locksmiths and other building maintenance staff who work across the CSU system. A formal complaint from the Public Employment Relations Board means the two parties must resolve the dispute in a formal hearing process.

    The backstory:  According to Teamsters Local 2010, union members won wage increases in 2024 “after nearly three decades of stagnation.” That year, the union was on the verge of striking alongside the system's faculty, but it reached a last-minute deal with the CSU. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the system, arguing that the CSU refused to honor contractually obligated raises and step increases for its members.

    What the CSU says: The CSU maintains that conditions described in its collective bargaining agreement with the union — which “tied certain salary increases to the receipt of new, unallocated, ongoing state budget funding” — were not met.

    What’s next: In an emailed statement, spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith said the CSU welcomes “the opportunity to present the facts of this case before an administrative law judge.” After the formal hearing, the state board will propose a resolution to the dispute.

    Go deeper: Trades worker union says CSU backtracked on contract, authorizes strike

  • Strong winds for some valleys and mountains
    A lone palm tree sways in the wind, its frond are pushed to its left side by a strong wind. A clear light blue sky can be seen behind it.
    Wind moves palm trees on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Stanton.

    QUICK FACTS

    • Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy then sunny
    • Beaches: mid to upper 60s
    • Mountains: mid 60s to around 70 degrees
    • Inland: 64 to 71 degrees
    • Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory

        What to expect: A mostly sunny afternoon with temperatures sticking to the low to mid 70s for most of Southern California. Breezy conditions will pick up in the afternoon for some valleys and mountain communities.

        Read on ... for more details.

        QUICK FACTS

        • Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy then sunny
        • Beaches: mid to upper 60s
        • Mountains: mid 60s to around 70 degrees
        • Inland: 64 to 71 degrees
        • Warnings and advisories: Wind advisory

        The cool weather continues for one more day in Southern California. Later this evening, strong winds will kick in for some mountains and highway corridors ahead of a Santa Ana wind event slated for Friday.

        Temperatures at the beaches are going to stick around the mid to upper 60s, and around 70 degrees more inland.

        Coachella Valley, San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains will continue to see gusty winds until tonight.

        At noon, the Antelope Valley will be under a wind advisory, with winds expected to reach 20 to 30 mph, and some gusts up to 50 mph. Wind advisories will also kick in for the 5 Freeway corridor, Ventura County mountains and the Santa Susana mountains, where gusts could reach 45 mph.

      • Critical agreement with LA is six months late
        A white flag with five colorful rings waves in front of a blue plane.
        The official Olympic flag returns to Los Angeles for the first time in 40 years.

        Topline:

        One or two line overview of the story, should be sharp and to the point. If it's the only thing they read it should still give them good info.

        {ERASE ME — some possible lead ins, please change/add/delete what makes sense for story}

        Why it matters:

        Why now:

        The backstory:

        What's next:

        Go deeper: {if you have stories you want to link add them here}

        A key agreement outlining what city services Los Angeles will provide for the 2028 Olympic Games and how the cash-strapped city will be reimbursed for its extra work is now six months late.

        High-stakes talks over that agreement between the city and the private Olympics organizing committee LA28 have dragged far past an Oct. 1 deadline, sparking concern from city officials and observers that taxpayer dollars could be on the line.

        City Controller Kenneth Mejia, who audits and scrutinizes city finances, called the delay "deeply troubling."

        "The City needs a guarantee from LA28 that they will not go over budget and will pay for all of the additional security, sanitation, transportation, administrative, and any other costs associated with the Games," Mejia said in a statement to LAist. "The preparation and execution of these events should not come at any cost to Los Angeles taxpayers."

        The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games – like policing and traffic control.

        But the nuts and bolts of that arrangement have not been finalized, and if the agreement leaves L.A. exposed to unexpected or additional expenses, taxpayers could end up paying many millions.

        Hosting the Games is already an enormous financial risk for Los Angeles. The city is the financial backstop for the Olympic Games, meaning if the organizing committee runs into the red, L.A. will pick up the bill, along with the state of California.

        The extra staff and resources the city will dedicate to the Games represents another area where L.A. may end up with surprise costs.

        Why is the agreement delayed?

        Neither the city nor LA28 have shared publicly what's holding up the deal.

        Past public meetings and comments indicate that the two sides may disagree over the scope of LA28's obligation to cover city expenses.

        At a December city council meeting, the city administrative officer and council members discussed the boundaries of where LA28's responsibility for a service like traffic control ends and the city's responsibility begins.

        The city's Chief Legislative Analyst Sharon Tso, who is leading negotiations with LA28 along with the City Administrative Officer, told LAist in an email Wednesday that the city is still discussing the terms for things like cost estimates, service levels, and timelines for repayment.

        "We continue to work diligently with LA28 to finalize the agreement," Tso wrote. "I do not have an anticipated completion date at this time."

        Jacie Prieto Lopez, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs for LA28, said in a statement provided to LAist that the organizing committee was working with city leadership to finalize the agreement.

        "We remain engaged in good faith negotiations and look forward to our continued partnership with the City of Los Angeles," she said.

        Once the agreement is completed, it will be submitted to the city council and mayor.

        LA is counting on federal funding

        LA28 isn't the only entity expected to pay L.A. for Olympics-related costs. The city also is banking on money from the federal government, which has allocated $1 billion for security costs.

        The city administrative officer told the council last year that city spending on security at the Olympic venues, like for local police, should be covered by those funds.

        But exactly how much federal money the city of Los Angeles will actually get is yet to be determined. And it's possible that money could face delays – a problem World Cup host cities including Los Angeles encountered in the run-up to this summer's tournament.