Morning Brief: An Attack On An LAist Reporter, Back-To-School Frustration, And Old-School Beach Eats

Good morning, L.A. It’s August 16.

During an anti-vaccine rally on Saturday, KPCC/LAist criminal justice correspondent Frank Stoltze was kicked, shoved, and had his eyeglasses ripped from his face. Another man was stabbed during the melee. As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been made.

Stoltze was covering the rally at City Hall, which drew approximately 500 protesters and 50 counter protesters. Flyers leading up to the event billed it as the “Choose Freedom March against medical tyranny.” Other promotional materials encouraged attendees to “stop socialism” and “stand now while you can.”

According to the L.A. Police Department, things turned violent when the counter protesters arrived. A fight broke out on First and Spring streets. Before long, punches were being thrown and mace was being sprayed.

In an interview on 89.3 KPCC, which shares a newsroom with LAist, Stoltze explained that he approached a man on the south lawn of City Hall whose head was wrapped in a bloody ace bandage. The man told Stoltze he’d been beaten up by the counter protestors.

Stoltze said he then had “a polite conversation [with the alleged victim], and I asked if he wanted to be interviewed. He said no.”

When Stoltze asked a follow-up question about whether the man would agree to an interview if he could remain anonymous, other men dressed in fatigues, dark sunglasses, and American flag face coverings “got in my face and told me to get out of there … when I said it was a public park, they went ballistic … one shoved me, another kicked me and a third came up behind me and stole my eyeglasses.”

Stoltze said he has “had plenty of confrontations with people covering the news in L.A. over the years, but nothing like that.”

Read the entire story here.

Keep reading for more on what’s happening in L.A., and stay safe out there.

What Else You Need To Know Today

• All Los Angeles Unified School District staff will be required to get vaccinated by October 15.
• Compton City Councilmember Isaac Galvan is facing charges of conspiracy to commit voter fraud after a June runoff helped him retain his seat by one vote.
• The Torrance All-Stars clinched their spot in the Little League World Series West Region Championship game, but fell to Honolulu 7-2.
• Some parents’ frustration is building as the school year approaches and their students’ enrollment in City of Angels, LAUSD’s independent study program, still isn’t finalized.
• As more children contract the COVID-19 delta variant, there’s also a surge in kids diagnosed with a combination of COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus.
• July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth, which dates back 142 years.
• California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a recall election, but polls have shown some voters are less engaged ahead of this race. We know that it’s been a tough couple years, so we want to know: What’s on your mind if you’re not interested in this year’s gubernatorial recall election?

Before You Go ... What People Ate At L.A.'s Beaches 100 Years Ago

People on the beach in Santa Monica, circa 1914-1915. Info on the envelope read: "Ph. Smalley, Hobart Bosworth, John D. Fredricks, Los Angeles." These names may refer to actor Phillips Smalley, actor Hobart Bosworth, future U.S. representative John D. Fredricks. It is unclear if these are the people in the image. (Ernest Marquez Collection/The Huntington Library)

These days, a trip to the beach might mean a delicious meal of seafood or other local cuisine. That wasn’t always the case. In this 2019 piece, LAist contributor Hadley Meares explores what local beachgoers used to eat when making a day of it at the coast.