Good morning. It’s Saturday, and this is your one-minute, weekly roundup of L.A. Material’s best work.
1. Why is everybody parking on the Larchmont Boulevard median?
If you’ve spent any time in Larchmont, you’ve almost certainly seen it: People literally abandon their cars in the middle of the road while they shop and eat on the boulevard. Residents and business owners, exasperated by the bizarre (and illegal) custom, often blame a lack of enforcement. But a look at the data — and a few revealing interviews — shows the story is more complicated.
2. L.A. County is paying out millions to prosecutors who worked under George Gascón.
Numerous prosecutors at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office have filed suit alleging that, under Gascón, the D.A.’s office retaliated against them for questioning his famously progressive criminal justice reforms. The county has already agreed to pay out at least $14 million — and the number is only expected to go up.
3. Local cocktail bars are importing ice from Japan.
It sounds absurd, but cocktail aficionados swear the ice really does make a difference. One bespoke importer counts more than 50 businesses in L.A. as customers, including Vandell, the buzzy Los Feliz cocktail bar. The story of how ice became essential to American drinking culture — and how frozen water now makes its way from Japan to L.A. — is fascinating.
MORE MATERIAL
WHEN YUSEF ROBB, a top adviser to Karen Bass, took a consulting job at Lineage amid the Boyle Heights warehouse fire, the mayor’s office insisted there was no conflict of interest because a “firewall” was in place. But it turns out he actually remained in the mayor’s internal group chats for more than a week, we exclusively reported.
THE WATER MAIN that ruptured in West Hollywood last week was more than 100 years old. Most of L.A.’s other pipes are of “about the same vintage,” the city’s chief water officer told us in this handy explainer on the city’s aging infrastructure.
WHEN QUENTIN Tarantino purchased the historic Vista Theater in Los Feliz, observers quickly noticed that Victor Martinez — its longtime manager who gained local fame for dressing up as characters from the movies being screened there — had vanished. Where did he go?
LINKS YOU CLICKED MOST
THIS POMONA Craftsman comes complete with original woodwork, a Batchelder fireplace, and a pool — all under $1 million.
EATER LA assembled a new guide to the dining options at the Hollywood Bowl.
A SOFTWARE engineer built a quirky website that purports to show cities’ air quality in terms of cigarettes. This week in L.A., apparently, 24 hours outside was equivalent to half a smoke.
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