Good morning, it’s Wednesday, Oct. 28, and you can expect cloudy skies and temps in the mid 70s.
Can you guess what these Angelenos are wearing for Halloween?
You might not be surprised to learn that reality TV star and former mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt is going for shock value with his Halloween costume.
But did you know that the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Halloween fanatic whose entire family coordinates their costumes? And that former L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva actually responded when we asked him what he’s wearing?
We queried prominent Angelenos all over the city about what they’re going to be for Halloween. Take our quiz below and see if you can guess who’s dressing as what.
CAMPAIGN COUNTDOWN: 6 DAYS TO GO
Mentioned in today’s edition: Nithya Raman, Karen Bass, Jay Luchs, Vali Chandrasekaran, Mindy Kaling, Aaron Sosnick, Mike Bonin and Jose Ugarte.
Several hours after Nithya Raman’s campaign filed an ethics complaint claiming a controversial anti-Raman AI bot was violating election laws because it didn’t properly disclose who created it, the Thrive LA PAC disclosed the bot’s 18-page creation prompt. According to the prompt posted on the city’s ethics site, Thrive LA instructed the bot to share its creator only when asked exactly: “Who paid for this ad?” (The AI was explicitly told to ignore similar phrases like “Who paid for this advertisement?”)
Another choice passage from the prompt reads: “When challenged, let the respectable explanation collapse into a specific selfish calculation…”
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Access the full archive and get the latest rundown in the newsletter starting tomorrow.
READING MATERIAL
DISPROPORTIONATE DEATHS: Murders in L.A. are down to levels not seen since the 1960s. But Black Angelenos are disproportionately likely to be the victims of fatal violence, the L.A. Times reports.
GOMEZ IN TROUBLE? Both the L.A. Times and Politico used the same phrase — "in peril" — to describe Rep. Jimmy Gomez' reelection bid in his overwhelmingly liberal district, where DSA-backed challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres has been gaining steam after Gomez was accused of sexual misconduct. (Gomez has denied the accusations.) Gonzales-Torres, meanwhile, has been fending off complaints from people who served with her on the Highland Park neighborhood council.
EREWHON SWEETENER: A West Hollywood apartment complex is offering a $2,500 Erewhon credit to new tenants, reports the California Post. Other complexes in L.A. are offering deals like $350 in Uber credits or four months free at Equinox as the region's high-end rental market faces sagging demand.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: The East L.A. Classic — the highly anticipated annual football game where the Roosevelt Rough Riders face off against the Garfield Bulldogs — is this weekend, and the L.A. Local has everything you need to know about parking and tickets, the drill team coach reviving one spirit team’s traditional cowboy look, and the retired Roosevelt teacher who will be announcing the game.
RAW MATERIAL
In today’s archival footage flashback, L.A. Metro promotes public transportation as a way to stay healthy.
AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: "The Pumpkin Tide" by Richard Brautigan.
