Community News
Boulevard favorites and a masked golden are among the pack
Meet this year’s inductees into our annual Pets of Larchmont! Rockstar Halpern-Goldstein, Windsor Square, “loves belly rubs, her Peppa Pig plush doll and walking up to Larchmont and getting puppy treats from Diptyque or a piece of turkey from Larchmont Wine and Cheese,” says Jonathan Goldstein. Joey, 12, never asked for a baby sister — […]
Minneapolis killing sparks nationwide protests
A video of the brutal killing of a 46-year-old Black man by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25 sparked nationwide peaceful protest that was accompanied in some places by violent crime from riotous mobs vandalizing and looting, especially on the weekend of May 30 and 31. In the subsequent days of June, hundreds […]
Lawmakers push housing legislation as session ends
As Angelenos simultaneously deal with the coronavirus pandemic and nationwide protests, California lawmakers are busy in Sacramento pushing forward housing legislation that has the potential to forever change our historic neighborhoods. With Aug. 31 the last day for each chamber to pass bills, state lawmakers are working fast, perhaps even hastily, to wrap up the […]
Black Lives Matter
This special section has been added this month to provide a forum for sharing ideas and opinions on the important issues raised by Black Lives Matter discussions and demonstrations. That was not possible last month; the paper already was at the printer as events transpired. This month, we can include stories about immediate neighborhood reactions, […]
What's Entertaining
Boulevard stores gingerly step into reopening
In late June, as I spoke with storeowner after storeowner on Larchmont between Beverly Blvd. and First St. about their plans for operation throughout this COVID-19 summer, one theme seemed to dominate: “We’ll play it by ear.” Many businesses have reopened with shortened hours, while some doors have remained closed. Back in late May, businesses […]
Time to bring anger in streets to theaters?
I had planned to focus this month’s column on summer Shakespeare festivals devastated by COVID-19. They are at great financial risk because their income is earned between May and September, with opportunity to make up ticket sales in the fall and winter. Theaters from the London Globe and Royal Shakespeare Company to our own local […]
Summer Camps during COVID-19
This summer, “camp” is not about the campsite. Traditions, like camp songs, arts and crafts, dress-up days or bonding with counselors, help to bring campers closer together, and it is activities like those that camps this summer are holding onto during this time of COVID-19 social-distancing regulations. Los Angeles County announced that, effective June 12, […]
Vacation dreams: Do we dare venture out into the world?
The world is beginning to reopen, and sequestered Los Angelenos are eager to jump back into some semblance of normalcy, but does that include travel to exotic climes? Some travelers report that airlines’ promised empty middle seats — for social-distancing — are not always empty, and that wearing masks, while advised, may not be mandatory. […]
Who's Doing What
Residents come together to save ducks: ‘It was instantly clear the mom was in distress’
In the lonely days of the pandemic quarantine, June Street resident Ed Redlich last month discovered some surprising new company in the neighborhood. A mother duck and four of her ducklings had become hopelessly lost, wandering north on the west side of June Street between Rosewood and Clinton. “It was instantly clear that the mom […]
Front yard regains its former glory, with masks, of course
Ah, the great outdoors. Nothing like a pandemic to make you crave some fresh air and time in nature. And friends. All of these forces combined have elevated the oft-neglected front yard to its earlier prominence. Laura Dine Million and her husband Mike Million and son watched from their front porch on Wilton Drive as […]
Around the Town: Women Speak and rappers, children rap for Alexandria House
Alexandria House held its annual “Women Speak” Luncheon June 4 the only way possible for the long-revered organization. Even with the limitations imposed by remote access, there were guest speakers: author, activist and former Alexandria House resident Keanakay Scott and Rabbi Sharon Brous, who once led the prayers at the Obama and Garcetti inaugurals. “My […]
Pets of Larchmont: Therapy dogs lead the pack in Children’s Hospital program
Wrigley takes his job as a therapy dog at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) “very seriously,” says his owner, Kate Buhrmaster. The eight-year-old Bernese mountain dog is among 127 “volunteer” dogs in the therapy program at CHLA. “He’s visited with — and hopefully helped lift the spirits of — thousands of people over the past […]
Real Estate News
Summer book salute, party
It clearly was a “locals” party, with the featured guests all being authors from nearby and about 200 total viewers gathered around Zoom screens to learn about suggested summer reading, for kids, teens and adults. Billed as a salute to our local bookstore, Chevalier’s Books, as it slowly reopens, the host and moderator was John […]
On Preservation: Sacramento strikes back: with the many sons of failed SB 50
There is a maxim in politics that states, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” a saying currently being amply exploited by our legislature in Sacramento. Under the cover of a global pandemic and civil unrest, once again State Sen. Scott Wiener, the maestro of failed SB 50, is trying to foist dodgy housing […]
On Books and Places: AME founder, former slave honored near Bradbury Building — site she once owned
Tucked into the neighborhood of the Grand Central Market and the Bradbury Building, the memorial honoring Bridget “Biddy” Mason isn’t a place most people go to. Rather, it’s one they come upon. Set just off Spring Street, it’s a quiet space — at least relative to the bustle surrounding it. The main feature of this […]
Real Estate Sales for May
Single-family homes 555 Rimpau Blvd. 525 N. Citrus Ave. 842 Muirfield Rd. 902 S. Highland Ave.623 N. Fuller Ave. 7315 Oakwood Ave. 4056 W. 7th St. 532 N. Irving Blvd. 633 N. Cahuenga Blvd. 7257 Oakwood Ave. 358 N. Bronson Ave. $4,900,0002,300,0002,235,0001,770,0001,700,0001,439,0001,350,0001,340,8881,250,0001,126,000975,000 Condominiums 5123 Clinton St.5125 Clinton St. 4925 Wilshire Blvd., #2035019 Maplewood […]
Other Recent Stories
Summer book salute, party
It clearly was a “locals” party, with the featured guests all being authors from nearby and about 200 total viewers gathered around Zoom screens to learn about suggested summer reading, for kids, teens and adults. Billed as a salute to our local bookstore, Chevalier’s Books, as it slowly reopens, the host and moderator was John […]
On Preservation: Sacramento strikes back: with the many sons of failed SB 50
There is a maxim in politics that states, “Never let a good crisis go to waste,” a saying currently being amply exploited by our legislature in Sacramento. Under the cover of a global pandemic and civil unrest, once again State Sen. Scott Wiener, the maestro of failed SB 50, is trying to foist dodgy housing […]
On Books and Places: AME founder, former slave honored near Bradbury Building — site she once owned
Tucked into the neighborhood of the Grand Central Market and the Bradbury Building, the memorial honoring Bridget “Biddy” Mason isn’t a place most people go to. Rather, it’s one they come upon. Set just off Spring Street, it’s a quiet space — at least relative to the bustle surrounding it. The main feature of this […]
Boulevard stores gingerly step into reopening
In late June, as I spoke with storeowner after storeowner on Larchmont between Beverly Blvd. and First St. about their plans for operation throughout this COVID-19 summer, one theme seemed to dominate: “We’ll play it by ear.” Many businesses have reopened with shortened hours, while some doors have remained closed. Back in late May, businesses […]
