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James Van Der Beek — best known for his role as Dawson Leery in the hit late 1990s and early aughts show,"Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace.
There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend."Van Der Beek started acting when he was 13 in Cheshire, Conn., after a football injury kept him off the field. He played the lead in a school production of, got involved with local theater, and fell in love with performing. A few years later, he and his mother went to New York City to sign the then-16 year old actor with an agent. But Van Der Beek didn't break out as a star until he was 21, when he landed the lead role of 15-year-old Dawson Leery, an aspiring filmmaker, in There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend." Van Der Beek started acting when he was 13 in Cheshire, Conn., after a football injury kept him off the field. He played the lead in a school production of, got involved with local theater, and fell in love with performing. A few years later, he and his mother went to New York City to sign the then-16 year old actor with an agent. But Van Der Beek didn't break out as a star until he was 21, when he landed the lead role of 15-year-old Dawson Leery, an aspiring filmmaker, inVan Der Beek's life changed forever with this role. The teen coming-of-age show was a huge hit, with millions of weekly viewers over 6 seasons. It helped both establish the fledgling WB network and the boom of teen-centered dramas, says Lori Bindig Yousman, a media professor at Sacred Heart University and the author ofBeverly Hills, 90210 ."It wasn't these rich kids. It was supposed to be normal kids, but they were a little bit more intelligent and aware of the world around them … It was attainable in some way. It was reflective."drama centered around love, hardships, relationships, school and sex — sometimes pushing the boundaries when it came to teens discussing sex. Van Der Beek's character Dawson was a moody, earnest dreamer, sometimes so earnest he came across as a"sad sack," says Bindig Yousman. He had a seasons long on-again off-again on-screen relationship with his best friend Joey, played by Katie Holmes. Bindig Yousman says Van Der Beek quickly became seen as a heartthrob. "I think he was very safe for a lot of tweens, and that's when we started to get the tween marketing," she says, referring to the attention paid to him by magazines likelaunched the careers of not just of James Van Der Beek, but his costars Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams. All went on to have successful careers in the entertainment industry. Despite his success, Van Der Beek didn't land many roles that rose to that same level of fame he enjoyed in. Perhaps because audiences associated him so much with Dawson Leery, it was difficult to separate him from that character.And he actually parodied himself in the sitcom3. In it, he's a self-obsessed actor unsuccessfully trying to get people to see him as someone other than the celebrity from. In an episode where he decides to teach an acting class, the students ignore the lesson and instead pester him to perform a monologue from the show. In real life as well, the floppy blond-haired Dawson Leery is the one that stole fans' hearts, but Bindig Yousman says Van Der Beek still enjoyed a strong fanbase that followed him to other shows, even when they were only smaller cameos.about his cancer, Van Der Beek said"Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis ... I am one of them." He leaves behind six children.reunited to raise money for the nonprofit F Cancer, which focuses on prevention, detection and support for people affected by cancer. They read the pilot episode at a Broadway theater in New York City in September 2025. His former co-star Michelle Williams organized the reunion. James Van Der Beek was unable to perform, due to his illness, but contributed an emotional video that was shown onstage. In it, he thanked his crew and castmates, and theA vehicle zooms past a radar speed display sign along Stearns Street in Long Beach, which is among the pilot cities and approved camera locations in December.The Los Angeles Department of Transportation released the locations around the city it feels would most benefit from camera systems, which, once up and running later this year, will automatically detect speeding violations and help generate citations.Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law in October 2023 that authorizes several cities throughout the state to pilot speed safety cameras. The number of cameras in each city is based on population, and L.A. has authority to install the systems at 125 locations throughout the city.It probably doesn’t need to be said, but there are a lot of miles of roads in L.A. To identify potential locations for cameras, the city looked at 550 miles of corridors that are already known to see speeding cars, where past interventions to tamp down on speeding haven’t been effective and where speeding has been determined to be the primary reason for collisions. The number of lanes and proximity to schools, senior centers and street racing hotspots were also factored in. Council offices were consulted, as well.The city is proposing to install cameras on street light poles at “mid-block locations.” The city is recommending spreading the systems nearly equally among the council districts.The public can share their thoughts on the proposed locations before the L.A. City Council weighs in. The public can also comment on other legislatively mandated documents outlining, among other aspects of the program, how the city plans to protect civil liberties and the data that went into selecting proposed camera locations.L.A. is further behind its peer cities in installing the camera systems. San Francisco launched its cameras last year, Oakland’s went up earlier this year and Long Beachfor its batch. L.A. expects to launch a 60-day public information campaign this summer before activating the cameras in July, followed by an additional 60-day period during which violators will receive warnings. After that warning period is over, the cameras will begin issuing citations.L.A. Olympics chief Casey Wasserman will remain at the helm of the 2028 Games, despite public outrage over his appearance in the Epstein files, the board of directors said Wednesday.Wasserman has faced growing scrutiny in recent weeks after a trove of Justice Department documents included a series of flirty emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell from 2003.The statement from the board's executive committee said that it had brought in outside counsel to review Wasserman's past interactions with both Maxwell and Epstein, and that Wasserman had cooperated with the review.L.A. Olympics chief Casey Wasserman will remain at the helm of the 2028 Games, despite public outrage over his appearance in the Epstein files, the board of directors said Wednesday. Wasserman has faced growing scrutiny in recent weeks after a trove of Justice Department documents included a series of flirty emails between him and Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, from 2003.The board of directors for LA28 — the private nonprofit organizing the L.A. Olympics — issued its first public response Wednesday morning. The statement from the board's executive committee said that it had brought in outside counsel to review Wasserman's past interactions with both Maxwell and Epstein, and that Wasserman had cooperated with the review. "We found Mr. Wasserman's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell did not go beyond what has already been publicly documented," the statement reads in part. "The Executive Committee of the Board has determined that based on these facts, as well as the strong leadership he has exhibited over the past ten years, Mr. Wasserman should continue to lead LA28 and deliver a safe and successful Games,” the statement continued. Wasserman's connections to Epstein and Maxwell date back to 2002, when he went on a humanitarian trip to Africa arranged by former president Bill Clinton. According to LA28,"this was his single interaction with Epstein." The emails between Maxwell and Wasserman came after that trip, in 2003. They include an exchange in which Wasserman writes to Maxwell,"I think of you all the time…So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"In a statement provided to other media outlets after those documents were released, Wasserman said he was"terribly sorry" for his association with Epstein and Maxwell.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.A report from the Labor Department Wednesday showed U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 130,000 jobs in January — but an annual update shows hiring last year was much weaker than initially reported.The news comes amid worries that the nation's jobs engine has been sputtering. Employment gains for November and December were revised down by a total of 17,000 jobs.Once a year, the Labor Department updates its jobs tally with more accurate but less timely information drawn from unemployment tax records. Wednesday's revision shows there were nearly 900,000 fewer jobs in the economy last March than originally counted. On average, employers added only 15,000 jobs a month in 2025.on Wednesday showed U.S. employers added a better-than-expected 130,000 jobs in January — but an annual update shows hiring last year was much weaker than initially reported. The news comes amid worries that the nation's jobs engine has been sputtering. Employment gains for November and December were revised down by a total of 17,000 jobs. Once a year, the Labor Department updates its jobs tally with more accurate but less timely information drawn from unemployment tax records. Wednesday's revision shows there were nearly 900,000 fewer jobs in the economy last March than originally counted. On average, employers added only 15,000 jobs a month in 2025. Waller urged his central bank colleagues to cut their benchmark interest rate last month in an effort to prop up the sagging job market. But most Fed policymakers voted to hold rates steady in January, after three rate cuts last year.Healthcare and construction were among the few industries that saw significant job gains in January. The warehouses and transportation industry lost jobs, and the federal government continued to shed workers. Manufacturing added 5,000 jobs while hospitality added just 1,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3% from 4.4% the month before. That's quite low by historical standards. The unemployment rate among African Americans also fell, but remains elevated at 7.2%. Some of the weakness in job growth last year may reflect a drop in the number of available workers. The Trump administration has slammed the door on most people trying to enter the country, while aggressively deporting immigrants who have been living in the U.S. illegally. At the same time, many native born baby boomers are reaching retirement age and leaving the workforce."Employers are reluctant to fire workers, but also very reluctant to hire," Waller said in is statement."This indicates to me that there is considerable doubt about future employment growth and suggests that a substantial deterioration in the labor market is a significant risk." A few years ago, there were two job openings for every unemployed worker. By December, that had dropped to less than one. That slack in the job market means employers don't have to pay as much to attract and keep workers. Average wages in January were up 3.7%, compared to a 3.8% gain in December. The monthly jobs tally is usually released on the first Friday of the following month, but the January count was delayed a few days because of last week's government shutdown.Traffic collisions in Los Angeles killed 290 people last year, and more than 150 fatal collisions involved pedestrians, according to Los Angeles Police Department data.While data from police indicate that 2025 is the second consecutive year that traffic fatalities have decreased, the number of people killed in collisions continues to outpace homicides in the city.The city has invested nearly $350 million as part of its landmark program launched in 2015. Initially, the goal was to reduce traffic deaths to zero by 2025. The program has been hampered by what auditors in 2025 called a lack of cohesion and political will.Traffic collisions in Los Angeles killed 290 people last year, and more than 150 fatal collisions involved pedestrians, according to Los Angeles Police Department data. That means L.A. is far from the goal it set more than a decade ago of reaching zero such deaths by 2025. Still, there was a 6% decrease in traffic fatalities compared to 2024. That tracks with trends that appear to suggest traffic fatalities are dropping nationwide. “I was happy to see the decrease, but I believe we can do better,” Lonyá C. Childs, commanding officer of the South Traffic Division of the LAPD, told LAist. Childs said prioritizing education about safe driving habits and enforcement of speeding and red light rules could further reduce traffic violence in L.A.At a January rally demanding action on traffic violence, L.A. City Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez pointed to this fact and said the city’s political institutions aren’t doing enough to bring traffic fatalities down. “They don’t act with the level of urgency that they would something is more sensationalist,” Soto-Martínez said. “But every single day, people are dying in our streets.”The early 2020s saw a sharp increase in traffic deaths nationwide, which researchers hypothesize is due to drivers adopting riskier behaviors on the road. The rate of traffic fatalities grew at a faster rate during that time period in L.A. compared to the U.S. as a whole, according to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.“So changes that we're observing now are, in my mind, the transition out of the peak that happened the COVID-19 pandemic,” Matthew Raifman, a transportation researcher at UC Berkeley, told LAist. Data from the LAPD indicate that 2025 is the second consecutive year that traffic fatalities on city streets have decreased, but they remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Raifman said that, generally speaking, a sustained decrease over a three- to five-year window is a strong indicator of increased safety on roads.In 2015, then-Mayor Eric Garcetti adopted a policy framework known as Vision Zero to zero out traffic deaths by last year. The city has so far invested nearly $350 million as part of Vision Zero, according to data from the office of the city administrative officer. Most of that money has supported making high-priority corridors in L.A. safer through various infrastructure projects, public outreach and speed surveys. The city has also invested $13.5 million under the Vision Zero umbrella to fund overtime for LAPD officers to conduct speed safety enforcement along city streets that see the highest number of traffic-related injuries and collisions.found that a lack of cohesion across departments, an unbalanced approach and insufficient political will ultimately hampered the city’s Vision Zero program. In response, the L.A. City Council late last year approved a suite of recommendations toIn a statement, the office of L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said it “fully supported the implementation of the City’s new recommendations to strengthen traffic safety and achieve the goals outlined in Vision Zero.”later this year. The program, which five other California cities are also piloting, will cite speeding drivers on dangerous roads.
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