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LAUSD insolvency, Pawn Shop sports bar, FilmWeek and more
L.A. Unified School District headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.
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Megan Garvey
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LAist
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Jump to
- County gives LAUSD 45 days to get budget in check or risk takeover
- More adult kids live with their parents. How does that change family dynamics?
- World Cup Pub Crawl: Pawn Shop refurbishes Melrose business into a sports bar
- FilmWeek: ‘Evil Dead Burn,’ ‘Moana,’ ‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,’ and more!
- Feature: Horror movies are bringing audiences back to theaters. But how long can it last?
Today's show: AirTalk Friday host Austin Cross discusses the potential for LAUSD insolvency, living with parents as an adult, Pawn Shop sports bar, FilmWeek and why horror movies are having a moment.
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County gives LAUSD 45 days to get budget in check or risk takeover
The topic:
Los Angeles Unified School District could be on the brink of insolvency as county officials project a $213 million cash shortfall in 2027. The school board has 45 days to figure out its budget or face a county takeover.
The issues: L.A. County largely cites union contracts that the district cannot afford to pay as the main problem. However, the district also failed to implement $231 million worth of previously planned cuts and enrollment has been falling for some time.
The L.A. County Office of Education provided this statement: "LACOE is working closely with LAUSD to support their efforts to improve their fiscal outlook. This letter and the appointment of a fiscal expert is part of the process county offices of education take when a district is unable to meet its financial obligations over a three-year period. We are hopeful that the district will take the appropriate actions to implement budget solutions that will stabilize their long-term financial stability."
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We also reached out to the LAUSD superintendent’s office, but they were unavailable to join today’s conversation.
Guest:
- Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times education reporter
More adult kids live with their parents. How does that change family dynamics?
How long did you live with your parents?
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Dima Berlin
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iStockphoto
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The topic:
A record number of young Americans are living with their parents. Roughly 17% of adults ages 25 to 34 now live with a parent or grandparent, per John Burns Research and Consulting tabulations of Census Bureau data.
The stigma: Living at your folks’ home as an adult has typically come with some form of stigma attached to the practice, regardless of the circumstances. But with macroeconomic factors that seem to cut across generations in recent years, young people leaning on the economy to justify parental cohabitation have a believable reason.
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Join the conversation: Are you a parent whose adult kids moved back home for financial reasons? Or an adult living with mom and dad? How has it changed your relationship? Give us a call at (866) 893-5722 or email us at atcomments@laist.com.
Guest:
- James Rodriguez, real estate correspondent for Business Insider who covers housing trends and the national real estate market; his recent piece is Gen Z's new roommates: mom and dad
- Tracy Ross, licensed clinical social worker, couple and family therapist and relationship expert based in New York
World Cup Pub Crawl: Pawn Shop refurbishes Melrose business into a sports bar
The topic:
SoFi Stadium’s last 2026 FIFA World Cup match is a quarterfinal matchup between Spain and Belgium, meaning it’ll be pretty hard for Angelenos to catch these games in person. But there are a variety of sports bars across SoCal doing live watch parties. For today’s edition of Food Friday’s World Cup Pub Crawl, we’ll talk to the minds behind Pawn Shop, a sports bar in Hollywood.
Restaurant details:
- The building was originally home to Brothers Collateral Pawn Shop, which closed in 2019 after 40 years.
- One of its partners, Diego Torres-Palma, also helped develop Benny Boy Brewing through his real estate-investment firm, Ventana Ventures.
- Investors include Dodgers executive Andrew Friedman and Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban.
Location and hours:
Address: 5901 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90038
Hours: Monday–Wednesday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Thursday–Friday 11 a.m. to midnight; Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight; Sunday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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What we tried: Pickle-brined fried chicken, Italian sandwich, and Pan con Tomate.
Guests:
- Tony Messina, executive chef and partner of Pawn Shop, a New England-inspired sports bar in Hollywood
- Diego Torres-Palma, partner and CEO of Pawn Shop, a New England-inspired sports bar in Hollywood
FilmWeek: ‘Evil Dead Burn,’ ‘Moana,’ ‘Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass,’ and more!
Moana (Catherine Laga'aia) in the live-action Moana remake
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Courtesy Disney
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The topic:
Larry Mantle and LAist film critics review this weekend’s latest movie releases in theaters and on streaming platforms.
The films:
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Evil Dead Burn, Wide Release
Moana, Wide Release
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, Wide Release
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, At Select Laemmle Theaters
Night Nurse, In Select Theaters
The Isolate Thief, In Select Theaters
Mockbuster, Laemmle Glendale & Available on Digital & VOD
The American Southwest, Available on Digital & VOD
Barrio Triste, Landmark Nuart Theater [West LA] & American Cinematheque’s Los Feliz 3
The critics:
- Amy Nicholson, film critic for LAist and the Los Angeles Times. She’s also host of the podcast ‘Unspooled’
- Lael Loewenstein, film critic for LAist
- William Bibbiani, film critic for The Wrap and host of The Critically Acclaimed Network podcast
Feature: Horror movies are bringing audiences back to theaters. But how long can it last?
Bear (Michael Johnston) and Nikki (Inde Navarrette) in Obsession
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Courtesy Focus Features
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The topic:
Horror movies are having a moment. Two of this year's greatest box office successes are two horror films, each from unknown directors with non-IP scripts and relatively small budgets.
A horror darling: Obsession is the unexpected runaway hit of the summer, having grossed over $400 million worldwide on less than $1 million budget. Now almost two months out from its initial release, it is still playing in theaters nationwide.
Another hit: Backed by the studio A24, Backrooms had a budget of $10 million and has grossed almost $350 million worldwide. Some of its success can be attributed to it being based on a popular 4chan post that sparked a webseries and several internet games.
Guests:
- Amy Nicholson, film critic for LAist, film critic for the Los Angeles Times and host of the podcast ‘Unspooled’
- Christy Lemire, film critic for LAist, and co-host of the ‘Breakfast All Day’ YouTube and podcast series
- Tim Cogshell, film critic for LAist, Alt-Film Guide and CineGods.com
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Today on AirTalk: Summer heat wave, electric vehicles, classic board and card games, Arroyo Seco water, best alien movies and TV Talk. -
Today on AirTalk: the LA28 homelessness plan, a new study on addiction recovery and dad bods. -
Today on AirTalk: Belgium defeats Team USA, LAHSA's grim future, favorite beaches, DSA memberships, and best tacos in SoCal.
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