Good morning. It’s Saturday, and this is your one-minute, weekly roundup of L.A. Material’s best work.
1. We sent a writer to rank the best movie theater bars in Los Angeles.
It was harder than it sounds. What counts as a movie theater? What counts as a bar? Then, after whittling down the list, L.A. Material contributor Eric Misitzis Mennel visited 21 bars in seven days. The result is a delightful story about the best places to drink before watching a movie — and one great tip to get dirt-cheap beer.
2. A UCLA executive is suing the UC Regents.
Mary Osako, vice chancellor for communications and marketing at UCLA, is the top person in charge of safeguarding the school’s reputation. That makes her lawsuit against the university system all the more remarkable. In court filings this week, Osako’s lawyers sought to block the release of an investigatory report that they said could cause her “irreparable reputational harm.”
3. The city of L.A. wants to get into side hustles.
For more than a century, an obscure clause in the city charter has prevented L.A. from engaging in “purely commercial” business activity. Now, in an effort to bring in new revenue, policymakers want to scrap that clause — so the city can start selling an unexpected product. You’ll be able to vote on it in November.
MORE MATERIAL
CONSERVATIVE MEDIA went into a frenzy this week over a supposed proposal to create “sexual relief clinics” for homeless people in L.A. Except, there was no such proposal — just a dude who appeared to facetiously suggest the idea during public comment at a city council meeting.
A STRANGE-LOOKING SLIDE at a West Adams playground was taken down about as soon as it was erected. Six months later, the playground area is still off-limits to the public, and the entire episode remains a neighborhood mystery.
A COMMEMORATIVE plaque outside Conan O’Brien’s old Miracle Mile apartment has gone missing — setting off a whodunit in the neighborhood WhatsApp group.
LINKS YOU CLICKED MOST
SANTA BARBARA County wants to get rid of its network of callboxes. The reason? Every call basically costs $500, according to SFGate.
THE ATLANTIC assembled a photo essay that tracks Dolly Parton’s “extraordinary life and career.”
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, have put their Fair Oaks home up for sale. The 12,663-square-foot house on a bluff overlooking the American River is listed for $7.5 million and includes a tennis court and a wine cellar big enough to hold 5,000 bottles.
