Larchmont Chronicle

Community News

31 vacancies on the boulevard and nearby?

There are a number of retail and other commercial spaces that appear vacant or “For Lease” along Larchmont Boulevard and in the immediate neighborhood. And this situation predates any COVID-19 closures. In the Village between First and Beverly, along the west side of the street, there are five empty spaces: next to Village Pizzeria, the […]

Stores open on Boulevard after mayor lifts ban on retail

Fast-changing state, county, and city rules have been keeping retail merchants on their toes. At the end of last month, retail stores finally were allowed to reopen, so long as social distancing and similar hygiene measures are followed. In the interim period preceding the governments’ latest loosening of controls, some of those same stores had […]

Commencement looks different this year; first graduating class for GALA

Graduation is looking a little different for high school seniors this year. Many schools are hosting online events with an eye to having in-person celebrations or commencement ceremonies later on in the year. Some schools are trying different ways to make it special, such as yard signs announcing graduates, keepsake boxes, films celebrating the graduates […]

Nearby riots in Fairfax / Beverly Grove / Beverly Hills / Santa Monica; Larchmont looted too

FOR THE RECORD, the above took place on Sat. and Sun., May 30 and 31, 2020. Our readers probably got more than enough of the disturbing news live on TV. We hope none of you was injured, and we send our condolences to all who had their businesses vandalized, looted, and ruined by the mobs. […]

What's Entertaining

Taste of Larchmont officially cancelled this year

Taste of Larchmont (TOL) was canceled officially last month after a meeting of the HopeNet board of trustees, announced Levi Webb, executive director of HopeNet. The vote was unanimous, continued Webb, who said that, while not a surprise, the vote was a difficult decision. “The board and I labored over this decision. We wanted to […]

Book talks at Chevalier’s continue – but online

It seemed like it was an even larger-than-normal crowd of lovers of intellectual stimulus who attended a recent book talk at our favorite independent bookseller in late May. Counting all the faces on multiple Zoom screens calculated an audience of approximately 75 people enjoying the conversation among author Jim Newton and Windsor Square local attorneys, […]

Larchmont-area skateboarders seek a place of their own

Skateboarding and Southern California go together like peanut butter and jelly. Or sunsets and the ocean. Or surfers and waves. So it’s only fitting that we should see skateboarders zipping up and down the streets of our SoCal neighborhoods on a daily basis. While many observers see skateboarding as harmless, youthful fun, others have been […]

Museums offer live music, art projects and outdoor venues

Herald in the start of summer with live Latin music and jazz and art projects or head to outdoor venues at our local museums. But don’t do so in large groups (yet)! Music programs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art may not feature live bands you can dance or tap your feet to […]

Who's Doing What

Home life, homeschool: the series, Part III: Older students, friends at home too

At this point, every student (and family) has come to terms with the fact that schools in Los Angeles County will not reopen their doors this school calendar year. As of our April 2020 edition, some private schools were still on the fence. Not anymore; with stay-at-home orders still in place, homeschool has become the […]

1930s Depression: Surviving on pins and needles: Parable for weathering our modern-day crisis

It’s a simple pincushion, standing 10 inches high, made of cardboard and covered with fabric. But, it was a lifesaver for Joan Allemand and her family in 1930 during the Great Depression. Her mother would sell each one for a whopping 50 cents — and when she sold 12, that was “a whole week’s wages!” […]

History of past college pandemic responses as a guide for this fall

Most universities have suspended in-person classes and sent students home to minimize potential spread of COVID-19, as the country mobilizes resources to care for growing numbers of infected patients. Officials have branded these efforts as part of their “war” against the virus, with President Donald Trump even calling himself a “war-time president.” The present circumstances […]

Council Report: Threat of virus exposes simmering racism and bigotry

These past months have been harrowing, as we have worked together as a community to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus. Unfortunately, it has exposed many pre-existing vulnerabilities in our society — income inequality, educational disparities, weaknesses in our social safety nets — that have exacerbated the gravity of this crisis. What this virus […]

Real Estate News

Real Estate Sales for April

Single-family homes 111 S. Hudson Ave. 542 Lorraine Blvd. 635 Seward St. 446 N. Citrus Ave. 147 N. Windsor Blvd. 800 S. Windsor Blvd. 446 S. Highland Ave. 202 N. Gower St. 825 S. Muirfield Rd. 552 N. Bronson Ave. 608 Lillian Way 636 N. Gramercy Pl. 509 N. St. Andrews Pl. $5,600,000 5,510,000 2,720,000 […]

Local lawmaker pushes for denser housing: Assemblyman Bloom has two bills

Following the defeat of SB 50, and its predecessor SB 827 — controversial bills that would have preempted local control of zoning — California politicians have returned to the drawing board. Among them, local Assemblyman Richard Bloom, who has a constituency that stretches from Santa Monica to Larchmont Village, has sponsored two housing-related bills that […]

Lots of activity at The Grove during COVID-19 shutdown

Like everywhere in Los Angeles, things were very quiet at The Grove in April and almost all of May.* Impresario developer Rick Caruso kept all of his real estate projects open for walking (with the fountains flowing and music playing), even though the retail shops were not open. Later during this early phase of the […]

‘Slow Streets’ on fast track, primarily for pedestrians: Association supports proposal for Windsor Square

In a move designed to support social distancing while exercising outdoors, the City of Los Angeles has implemented a program that cities such as Oakland, Seattle and Berlin, Germany have already put into place: closing some residential streets to through traffic. These “Slow Streets” allow pedestrians in denser, park-poor neighborhoods to spread out on designated […]