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In a statement released on Friday, the county leader, who represents a district that includes the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, says the decision was reached was reached with family and friends after “much prayer and many honest conversations.
"Current challengers to Bass include reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, and Democratic socialist Rae Huang, a community organizer.released on Friday, the county leader, who represents a district that includes the Westside and the San Fernando Valley, says she's skipping the race to double down on her reelection bid. " I am choosing not to run for mayor and instead to focus on my reelection for Los Angeles County supervisor, not because I'm stepping away from a challenge. I'm stepping even more into the one we've already started," Horvath said.Current challengers to Bass include reality TV star Spencer Pratt, a registered Republican, and Democratic socialist Rae Huang, a community organizer.explores the weird and secret bits of SoCal that would excite even the most jaded Angelenos. He also covers mental health.Dwight Yoakam and Marcus King take the stage for the 2026 'Rockin’ for the Kids at the Roxy' Children's Hospital benefit concertSinger-songwriter Dwight Yoakam has lived in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. But coming up during the 1980s in the clubs of L.A. and the San Fernando Valley, you might say his style is more California Country than anything. Yoakam recently sold out The Roxy for aYoakam was joined on stage by Grammy-nominated people like Lukas Nelson — as in Willie’s son — guitar prodigy Marcus King and others. “It’s flattering on a personal level that five artists of that generation would come and collaborate with me to do this. But more importantly it was gratifying to hear their response to the charitable cause of Children’s Hospital,” Yoakam said.Yoakam and wife Emily Joyce had a very personal inspiration for organizing the benefit concert. Back in 2020, during the peak of COVID, their own infant son was seen at Children’s Hospital. They were relieved it was nothing, but the experience made a mark on their family.Yoakam will play Ontario’s ONT Field on March 21, right before heading out on tour with ZZ Top. Tickets are available viaSinger-songwriter Dwight Yoakam has lived in Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee. But coming up during the 1980s in the clubs of L.A. and the San Fernando Valley, you might say his style is more California Country than anything.He was joined on stage by Grammy-nominated people like Lukas Nelson — as in Willie’s son — guitar prodigy Marcus King and others.“It’s flattering on a personal level that five artists of that generation would come and collaborate with me to do this. But more importantly it was gratifying to hear their response to the charitable cause of Children’s Hospital,” Yoakam said. Yoakam and wife, Emily Joyce, had a very personal inspiration for organizing the benefit concert. In 2020, during the peak of COVID, their own infant son was seen at Children’s Hospital. They were relieved it was nothing, but an experience Emily relayed to Yoakam changed him. “She heard the little boy behind in another recovery bed come to. Five or six. And his eyes opened — I guess his father was there with him at his bedside. And he said ‘Was I brave daddy?’ And I said: ‘Wow, it puts everything in life in quick perspective.’" Yoakam said the experience stuck with Joyce so much that she was determined to put a benefit show together. And it was heartening having so many of his friends back him up for the"Rockin’ for the Kids" concert, Yoakam said. The night even had a surprise on-stage FaceTime call from actor Billy Bob Thornton. The actor and director — who cast Yoakam in his 1996 film— was originally scheduled to help emcee the event, but was stuck at an iced out movie shoot in New Jersey.Yoakam came out to the warm California sun in the late 70s, and it wasn’t long before he was gigging hard at long gone honky-tonks like The Palomino and The Corral in the San Fernando Valley. “ spent a year of my life on the off nights — let me tell you — that’s the real world,” Yoakam recalled. “The time I was out there doing, you know, five sets a night. You’d start at nine and end at two in the morning... And you know I really made my bones there.” It wasn’t long before Yoakam’s California Country music was mixing and merging with a new scene in L.A. One that blended the punk rock ethos with the twang of country. “The crossroads of time and place happened again in the early 80s with the quote ‘Cowpunk’ movement. A lot of them were punk rock bands. Like The Dills became Rank and File. The Plugz — with a Z — became Los Cruzados,” Yoakam said.“I said, ‘You know what? We don’t have to play The Roundup out in the Valley, we don’t have to play just The Palomino. I said ‘We can go over the hill,’” he said. Yoakam remembered it was Bill Bentley, a former music editor for the LA Weekly, who saw him performing at The Palomino and then invited him to play Club Lingerie on Sunset Blvd. “That introduced me to a different audience. And then we started playing... the rock n’ roll side of the hill,” Yoakam said. By 1986, Yoakam was playing at The Roxy for the record release party for “Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc. Etc.” The live performance was recorded and included on later releases of the album. “We did the record release party, 40 years ago in March, at The Roxy. It was kind of a full-circle moment. Interesting book-end, if you will, from 1986 to now,” Yoakam said. Eighth grader Leah created a sign with lyrics from Bad Bunny’s “LA MuDANZA,” a song that pays homage to the Puerto Rican artist's parents and his heritage. "He is ... showing how immigrants make America great, showing how immigrants are good for our communities," she said. "And that's really deep in my heart, being proud of where I'm from Mexico — Sonora, Obregón."Thousands more students joined walkouts on Friday to protest the Trump administration’s militarized crackdown on immigrants, detainment of children and violence against U.S. citizens protesting the raids.By mid-afternoon, nearly 12,500 students, from more than 85 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District had walked out, according to a district spokesperson. Hundreds of students, fromIn conversation with LAist, multiple students said they live in fear of being separated from their families. They also worry that their parents could be mistreated if they are detained by federal agents.By mid-afternoon, nearly 12,500 students from more than 85 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District had walked out, according to a district spokesperson. Hundreds of students in other districts — from At Olive Vista Middle School in Sylmar, about 100 students—some as young as 11—walked out of their science, English, and math classes, then walked to a nearby park. For many students, Friday’s walkout marks the first time they’ve ever participated in a protest. And after months of watching federal immigration agents violently detain people on social media, the students told LAist that protesting — on behalf of their communities and in honor of Renee Good and Alex Pretti — filled them with a sense of freedom and power.“This felt like I was breaking out of some sort of chamber,” he told LAist. “I felt like I was being free for once.” Many of the 12-year-old’s family members are from Mexico and he’s been worried about what could happen if they’re detained. “I'm standing up for my family and my friends, our community, really,” he said. “The most we do is what we're doing right now.” After months of being scared every time his parents go to work, Isaac said the protest was a type of salve.A few weeks ago, M, an 11-year-old sixth grader at Olive Vista Middle School, asked her mom, Maritza Ocegueda, why studentsand elsewhere were walking out of school. LAist has agreed to refer to her solely by her first initial, after her mom raised concerns for her safety. Ocegueda shared with her daughter that she walked out of Van Nuys High School as a junior in 2006 to protest proposed federal immigration legislation. Nearly “ I was floored,” Ocegueda said. “It inspires me and gives me that little bit of hope… Maybe we can make a change.”“If you'd like to join, please come over here and if you have any questions, just ask me.” Those announcements did not come easily to M, who is soft spoken and admittedly shy. “ I try to be the bravest I can,” she said. “ I want to understand how serious this … letting people be themselves, like, they can't go to Home Depot without feeling unsafe.”. M said at one point she was pulled out of class for more than an hour to talk about the walkout. “ One of the things I told the school you dropped the ball because this is a learning moment,” Ocegueda said. However, she said she’s open to more conversations with school and district leaders on how to support students. Maritza Ocegueda's daughter M organized Olive Vista Middle School's walkout. She said she's active in the community passing out food and clothes to unhoused neighbors and helping other people connect with resources.A Los Angeles Unified School District spokesperson provided a statement that said students were informed that walkouts are not school-sponsored, there are spaces on campus for students to exercise their freedom of speech and that they would be marked absent for missed class periods. A similar message was posted to the school’s Facebook page Thursday afternoon. “Administrators routinely meet with students to share safety information and clarify options for on-campus expression—not to threaten or discipline,” the statement read. “Leaving campus during instructional time without permission is discouraged; that message is about safety and supervision, not suppressing speech.”M said that other teachers were more supportive and helped her spread the word about the walkout to other students. “ What I've learned is students should not have to come protest 'cause that's what the adults should be doing,” M said. “Adults should know better to help out the community and students should not have to come out.”As students joined the group of young activists, those already outside cheered and passing cars honked their horns in support. One SUV had a Mexican flag poking out of the sunroof. Out by the curb, some of their parents, including M’s mom, were waiting. The adults encouraged the students to stick together and made sure the group waited for the light to turn before crossing the street to Sylmar Park. " What's in my heart is that my parents are Mexican and I wanna support," said Jayden, an Olive Vista 6th grader. Once they gathered, the middle schoolers marched to a nearby park, carrying homemade signs and flags of Latin America. One student turned to a friend and nervously quipped: “I just really hope we don’t get shot or tear gassed.”In conversation with LAist, multiple students said they live in fear of being separated from their families. They also worry that their parents could be mistreated if they are detained by federal agents. Eleven-year-old Alejandro, for instance, usually goes to Sylmar Park to play baseball. Today, he said, he went to the protest to honor his mom and dad, Mexican immigrants from the states of Michoacán and Jalisco. To critics who think he should have stayed in class, he said: “They don't understand how much we love our parents.” “I just don't like how Donald Trump is calling us ‘animals,’ when we're the ones working our asses off to live paycheck to paycheck, while he's up there sitting in his chair throwing out orders at Kristi Noem,” said eighth-grader Jesús, referring to the Secretary of Homeland Security. The 13-year-old had his family and his neighbors in mind during the protest, along with 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose “The little boy who was captured with his little bunny hat, he was captured and he was sent to prison,” Jesús noted. “And that's just crazy, because how are you going to let a little kid inside a prison?” The federal immigration activity in the San Fernando Valley has also left him feeling nervous, even when he is on campus. “I'm trying to study and then I just get reminded: maybe there's somebody waiting outside to take us.” Sixth grader Sophia’ said she walked out for her grandmother who’s from Mexico. "I wanna represent our people and show that we aren't bad," Sophia said. "We are actually, like, a great community."As the students chanted and waved their signs, adults passed out snacks, water and pizza purchased with money donated from the community. “They're here with clear intentions and they're here for a purpose,” said Michelle, the parent of another young protestor who requested LAist only use her first name. “I’m just proud of them.”“Now that I'm looking at myself, I do see myself as a helper,” M said. She plans to continue helping her community, for example by distributing food and clothes to unhoused neighbors.“ I was a shy kid, so I want them to be brave and speak up,” M said.If you're enjoying this article, you'll love our daily newsletter, The LA Report. Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.The iconic King Taco sign at the original Cypress Park location, which opened in 1974 and is now being considered for historic-cultural monument designation.The original King Taco location in Cypress Park is being considered for historic-cultural monument status by the Cultural Heritage Commission, which would recognize its role in transforming Los Angeles' taco landscape and supporting Latino immigrant entrepreneurship.King Taco helped establish the template for the modern L.A. taqueria — shifting the city's understanding of tacos from the hard-shell, Americanized version to soft tortillas filled with carne asada, carnitas and tacos al pastor. As the late food critic Jonathan Gold noted, King Taco"solidified what we all think of as the modern Los Angeles taco sensibility."Founder Raul Martinez launched King Taco from a converted ice cream truck in 1974, eventually opening the Cypress Park brick-and-mortar location that became the chain's flagship. The business grew to 24 locations across Southern California, becoming a model for immigrant entrepreneurship and establishing key Mexican dishes like tacos al pastor and carnitas as L.A. staples.The Cultural Heritage Commission will determine whether King Taco's original location retains sufficient historic integrity and continues to convey its cultural significance. If approved, King Taco would become one of the few designated restaurant landmarks recognizing Latino culinary contributions.The original King Taco location in Cypress Park is being considered for historic-cultural monument status by the Cultural Heritage Commission, which would recognize its role in transforming Los Angeles' taco landscape and supporting Latino immigrant entrepreneurship.King Taco helped establish the template for the modern L.A. taqueria — shifting the city's understanding of tacos from the hard-shell, Americanized version to soft tortillas filled with carne asada, carnitas and tacos al pastor. As the late food critic Jonathan Gold noted, King Taco"solidified what we all think of as the modern Los Angeles taco sensibility."Founder Raul Martinez launched King Taco from a converted ice cream truck in 1974, eventually opening the Cypress Park brick-and-mortar location that became the chain's flagship. The business grew to 24 locations across Southern California, becoming a model for immigrant entrepreneurship and establishing key Mexican dishes like tacos al pastor and carnitas as L.A. staples.The Cultural Heritage Commission will determine whether King Taco's original location retains sufficient historic integrity and continues to convey its cultural significance. If approved, King Taco would become one of the few designated restaurant landmarks recognizing Latino culinary contributions.Yasiel Puig looks on from the dugout during the 2018 World Series. He was found guilty Friday of lying to federal prosecutors about bets he placed on sporting events through an illegal bookmaking operation.Puig was convicted on one count of obstruction of justice and one count of making false statements. The charges stem from a January 2022 interview he did with federal investigators who were looking into an illegal gambling operation. Federal prosecutors say during the interview, Puig lied about knowing a bookie named Donny Kadokawa, whom Puig texted sports bets to place with the illegal operation. When showed a copy of a cashier's check he used to pay off some of his gambling debt, prosecutors say Puig doubled down and said he didn't know the person who told him to send the money.Federal prosecutors said that in May 2019, Puig began placing bets through Kadokawa, who worked for an illegal gambling operation out of Newport Coast. By June, they say he'd racked up nearly $283,000 in gambling debts. That same month, Puig withdrew $200,000 and bought another $200,000 in cashiers checks to pay off his debt so he could get access to gambling websites run by the illegal operation and place his bets himself. Prosecutors say Puig placed 899 bets between July and September of 2019, some of them at MLB ballparks before and after games in which he played. In the process, Puig ran up more debt, this time to the tune of $1 million dollars. He never paid it off.
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