‘The Hills’ cast and crew on Pratt’s mayoral bid

Good morning, it’s Wednesday, May 27 and you can expect possible drizzle in the morning, then crisp May Gray (high 60s). 

In his campaign advertisements, mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt portrays Los Angeles as a tent-strewn hellscape. It’s a far cry from the sparkling city MTV viewers saw depicted on The Hills, the reality show that made Pratt famous in the mid-aughts. 

Twenty years after The Hills first aired and roughly five months into Pratt’s mayoral bid, L.A. Material contributor Amy Kaufman called up some of Pratt’s former reality TV castmates and crew from The Hills to hear their memories and see what they make of his campaign. The picture his former colleagues painted is of an uber-focused — at times obsessive — Pacific Palisades native who was unafraid of ruffling feathers and remains exceptionally skilled at controlling media narratives. 

“Spencer was better than his castmates at spinning the press and making sure he was at the forefront of public attention. I had to keep up with the tabloids to make sure the episodes stayed relevant,” one former producer told Kaufman.

In the final days before the June 2 primary, Mayor Karen Bass and her campaign allies have been working hard to court the Latino vote. In part this is simple math: More than 35% of L.A.’s electorate is Latino and any path to victory requires substantial Latino support. But the voting bloc is especially crucial this election cycle for the beleaguered mayor, as her popularity has sagged among many other groups amid deep voter dissatisfaction over homelessness, city services, and the response to the Palisades fire. Latino voters have been a bright spot; polls show the mayor has a wide lead over her rivals with this group. 

In a new story, L.A. Material contributor Maeve Reston unpacks how independent groups supporting the mayor’s reelection have increasingly decided to put money and energy into turning out Latino voters. 

With Gustavo Dudamel heading east in August after the world’s longest goodbye, the Los Angeles Philharmonic finally announced a successor Tuesday: Daniel Harding will be the orchestra’s 12th music director. 

A Brit by birth who now lives in Paris and, rather incredibly, works part-time as an Air France pilot, Harding has long been fêted on the international orchestra circuit.

Dudamel may have served as the inspiration for Gael García Bernal’s charismatic character in the show Mozart in the Jungle, but Harding also possesses a made-for-TV kind of story: A teacher taped a performance Harding was conducting as a teen and sent it to preeminent conductor Simon Rattle, who soon invited Harding into his home and adopted him as protégé. Harding made his professional debut as a conductor not long after and eventually led orchestras across Europe. 

At 50, the former prodigy is also rather mature for the job, at least by L.A. Phil standards: Per the L.A. Times, Dudamel took on the job at 28 and his predecessor Esa-Pekka Salonen was 34 when he took charge of the Phil in 1992.

WHERE TO EAT IN INGLEWOOD: With the World Cup then the Super Bowl then the Olympics all on the docket, Food & Wine looks at where to dine near the city’s marquee stadiums.

THE LIGHTS ARE MUCH BRIGHTER THERE: The L.A. Times’ Roger Vincent and Itzel Luna have a fascinating story on how the ongoing woes of downtown L.A. are playing into the L.A. mayoral race. 

IN OTHER MAYORAL NEWS: In a lengthy story on Councilmember Nithya Raman’s candidacy, the L.A. Times’ Noah Goldberg reports that while Raman "is widely regarded as one of the smartest people in City Hall," she gets poor marks from council colleagues and community leaders in the alliance-building art of Politics 101. 

THE SOMETIMES DARK WORLD OF CELEB ASSISTANTS: With Matthew Perry’s former assistant set to be sentenced for his role in Perry’s ketamine-fueled death, the New York Times examines the complicated power dynamics between influential celebrities and the underlings who serve them. 

STRANGE STORM DRAIN SAGA: A Hollywood Hills homeowner was stunned to learn that a decades-old deal with the city means the storm drain outside his house is his responsibility, in perpetuity.

KTLA previews opening night at the Staples Center in 1999:

AND FINALLY… A poem to pair with your morning coffee: “Psalm for My Faith” by Jack Agüeros.

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