Highs around mid 70s and 80s
For most of SoCal, a pleasant and mild weekend, with highs in the mid 70s to mid 80s. That will be in stark contrast to Coachella Valley, temperatures will reach 95 to 100 degrees.
Taking a look at the Inland Empire, temperatures have dipped slightly with highs today sticking around the 80s, and up to 89 degrees in the warmest areas. For Orange County, temperatures there will hover in the mid to upper 70s. Also expect clouds and patchy fog in the morning followed by afternoon sun. In L.A.
County valleys, temperatures will stick around the upper 70s to around 86 degrees. L.A County beaches will see highs from 66 to 71 degrees. Survey after survey shows that the cost of housing is a top concern for Los Angeles voters. And the issue sharply divides candidates vying for mayor in the June 2 primary.
Mayor Karen Bass says her efforts to fast-track affordable housing are working. But few apartments have been built so far. She has fought to keep new apartments out of most of the city’s residential neighborhoods, pleasing homeowners but angering some housing advocates. Citing unaffordable rents and home prices as pivotal in her decision to run, City Councilmember Nithya Raman has promised to accelerate building in more of the city.
Many in the Yes In My Backyard movement support her. But critics say her support of density could drastically transform some single-family neighborhoods. Political outsider Spencer Pratt has promised a Downtown L.A. housing boom once he “gets rid of” tens of thousands of unhoused people. But he has been called out for spreading false information about state housing legislation.are working.
But few apartments have been built so far. She has fought to keep new apartments out of most of the city’s residential neighborhoods, pleasing homeowners but angering some housing advocates. City Councilmember Nithya Raman has said her different vision for tackling housing affordability was pivotal in her decision to run against Bass. Citing unaffordable rents and home prices, Raman has Raman’s housing platform has won her the backing of many in the Yes In My Backyard movement.
But critics say her support of density could drastically transform some single-family neighborhoods. Political outsider Spencer Pratt has promised a downtown L.A. housing boom once he “gets rid of” tens of thousands of unhoused people. But he hasOther candidates have presented their own ideas about the city’s housing affordability issues, but they’re behind in the polls.
What Bass says she’s accomplished so far When asked what she has done to bring down rents, Bass has pointed to a program she created in her first week in office: Executive Directive One. It By some metrics, ED1 has been a major success. After the program launched, developers flooded the city with applications. L.A.
’s Planning Department has received plans for 43,360 apartments since ED1 launched in December 2022 and has approved 34,298 of them. Under the directive, developers must agree to keep all units in these buildings affordable to low and moderate-income Angelenos. But few of those units are actually getting built. The city’s Building and Safety Department says 8,058 apartments have been issued building permits.
Only 298 have received certificates of occupancy, the last step in getting an apartment ready to rent to tenants.
“Some of the factors are the price of construction materials, just the general economy,” Bass said. “We are doing everything we can to make sure we are able to fast-track that housing. ”, which allows office buildings to be converted into housing, has enabled the creation of more than 43,000 potential units.
But the Building and Safety Department told LAist it could only find two units that have received certificates of occupancy since she took office.in historic zones and on many lots with existing rent-controlled apartments. She also blocked projects in the nearly three-quarters of residential land reserved for single-family homes. Bass says new housing belongs on commercial main streets, so homeowners in single-family zones don’t have to see apartments going up next to their lots.
That’s one of the reasons she asked Governor Gavin NewsomRaman has said she views this issue differently. She has said all kinds of neighborhoods need to accept denser housing. She. She has said young families are leaving L.A. because they can’t afford housing, and the city should do more to plan for increased density throughout the city, including in some single-family neighborhoods.
“We desperately need this housing,” Raman said in a recent debate. “What I want to do is go out here and not lie to you that we can keep everything the same, and Sacramento will not intervene. That is not possible. ” Raman has said that as mayor, she’ll make departments respond to zoning-compliant housing applications within 60 days.
, Pratt has said that L.A. ’s housing supply shortage is “a myth. ” But the former reality TV star also promised on a recent podcast to “speed up building” and work with architects to “bring Art Deco back. ” In a recent debate, Pratt said as mayor he’d get up to 20,000 apartments built in downtown L.A. by removing unhoused people.
“I’m gonna have 40 blocks when I get rid of all the drug addicts that are sleeping on the sides of all these empty buildings,” Pratt said. “We will have so much high-density… We have plenty of places to build. We don’t need to put a seven-story cement structure in a single-family neighborhood with no parking. ”Critics pointed out that was never true, because there are no qualifying transit stops in the Palisades.
In 2022, L.A. voters passed Measure ULA, perhaps better known as the city’s “mansion tax. ” It has taxed the sale of real estate valued at $5 million or more. It applies not just to single-family mansions, but also to apartment buildings and other commercial real estate.in apartment construction at a time when L.A. needs more housing.
Defenders say it has raised more than $1 billion for affordable housing construction and tenant aid programs.putting a measure on the June ballot to ask voters to exempt apartments built within the last 15 years. That effort failed, but Raman has continued to push for changes to Measure ULA.first update to the city’s rent control limits Bass also supported the city’s new, lower rent hike limits.
She says she’s been working with the Mayors Fund, an outside nonprofit, to providethat state and city tenant protections amount to “squatter’s rights. ” He has said he will work with the city attorney to streamline evictions and remove tenants within 72 hours. Two restaurants in L.A. , Tomat and Wilde’s, are offering California versions of classic British dishes — high quality, local ingredients and chef-driven innovations.
LAist senior editor Suzanne Levy wanted to try elevated British food. Would it lose its soul? While some innovations go too far for Levy’s sensibilities, she says both restaurants hit the spot in terms of nostalgia and taste. Hands up.
What is the most well-known British food? You probably guessed fish and chips, which can easily be found in Los Angeles, in British pubs and restaurants, as well as more home-grown venues. But what happens when top-notch L.A. chefs play with British influences, melding tradition with California’s diverse, sustainably grown approach to create new flavors and textures? And as a Brit who’s lived in L.A. for 13 years, I was intrigued to find out exactly what it was like.
Can British food be easily spruced up? Would I want it to be? I first headed to the Westside to try Tomat, a beautiful, serene haven in the center of a Westchester shopping complex. Few hints of Britishness here — more warm Scandinavian modernism.
While its seasonal, ever-changing menu also includes Mexican, Japanese and Persian dishes, sprinkled throughout are offerings which reflect Chef Harry Posner’s London upbringing. Posner says he “tried to be playful,” when creating the dishes, while incorporating top-notch, fresh local produce, , and the approach has apparently succeeded, with the restaurant being included in the prestigiousHe says the restaurant has elements of London’s vibrant food scene.
“I'd say the thing that is happening in London more and more is the sourcing of ingredients, really high quality ingredients,” he explains. “There's been some amazing food all over the UK… And the food has gotten way, way better. I mean, the food in London is fantastic. ” Looking at the menu’s starters, I immediately spotted a snap pea salad which included roasted parsnips, a British Sunday roast favorite.
Then I saw the Welsh rarebit. Welsh rarebit is a traditional British version of a grilled cheese sandwich, except the cheese is replaced with a savory cheese sauce which usually includes worcestershire sauce, mustard and beer. Tomat’s version had been cooked into a dark rich brown color, using a Porter beer from Inglewood.
I took a bite and was immediately transported home — well, home if my mother had baked her own bread and had been a top class chef . It was phenomenal.
Then on to the fish and chips. A quick note. Fish and chips in the U.K. usually come in the form of cod or haddock, fried in batter. Here, Posner uses rainbow trout covered in tempura, which comes with a homemade tartare sauce.
Audacious! Did it work? Yes, and then some. The fish was fresh and creamy and the tempura wonderfully crunchy.
“Loads of people would say,"oh no, you never fry salmon or trout, because it's too fatty or oily,” says Posner. “And I was like, ‘well, that's why it tastes so good. "The chips… were another experience. Instead of the usual thick fried chunks of potato, Tomat offers sweet potato, again fried in tempura batter.
Delicious? Certainly. Were they the chips from my childhood? Um, no. .
It was too far off the beaten track for me. But for Americans without the taste memory, they’ll likely receive rave reviews. .if you don’t know what I’m talking about). I, however, ordered the deconstructed Jaffa cake.
Jaffa cakes are a popular British cookie, spongey and orangey. My family loves them — when we score a packet we parade it around the house like Simba. Here it came as layers of sponge, passion fruit jelly and chocolate mousse, with tempered chocolate on top and an orange cream around the base. I scooped up all the elements in one spoonful and tentatively tasted it.
Perfection. If I was looking for an elevated British experience, this was it. I closed my eyes and was swept away in dreams of London — or maybe it was just my London Fog cocktail going to my head. A few weeks later I headed to Wilde’s in Los Feliz, which has been packed since it opened last October.
As I walked down Hillhurst, with the sun just beginning to set, I was definitely in L.A. But as I went through the door I was transported into the dining area of a cosy British country pub. Wood panelling, antique mirror, vintage sconces. Nailed it.
Well done. Natasha Price, the executive chef and co-owner with beverage director Tatiana Ettensberger, says they lucked out by finding an old building with character. But they were mindful of making the British vibe feel authentic.
“You can easily fall into something that feels sort of Disneylandesque,” she said. Price’s parents are British, and while she grew up in L.A. , she spent most summers with her grandparents in the British countryside, so has a good sense of what makes for an excellent country pub.
“Places that really are just using good ingredients and cooking simple rustic food. I think that’s inherently British, and it’s maybe the element of British food that’s not necessarily widely regarded, especially here in L.A. ” For the first course I plumped for Shropshire Blue cheese, home-made marmalade using California oranges and a fantastic fresh house bread, a mash-up of Irish soda bread and traditional bread that’s a unique Price creation.
. The mixture of the smooth cheese, the bittersweet marmalade and the bread was a revelation. I couldn’t get enough. Wilde’s also offers fish and chips.
Here the fish is skate, an unusual fish even for American palates. Price says she chose it because she loves its “sweet, buttery flavor”, but for me, encased in batter, it was somehow too rich. The chips, however, scratched all the itches. Sumptuous, fried chunky potato pieces, which came with malt vinegar, a must for classic British fish and chips, and ketchup for dipping.
. The British friend I went with and I fell upon them, oohing and aahing as we ate our way through to the bottom of the dish. . The minimalist menu changes often, with simple but inventive dishes. Fish and chips are a staple, however, as is the lone dessert, sticky toffee pudding, something they developed with care.
“We wanted it to feel very British in its texture, truly pudding-like rather than cake,” said Price. Sticky toffee pudding is a popular British dessert, a sponge mixed with dates and doused in a caramel toffee sauce. Here there were some innovations — it’s served with creme fraiche instead of custard, but as my friend said, the dish was perfectly sticky and creamy in itself, so it didn’t need a custard dunking.
In some ways I felt like Goldilocks in both places, searching for the perfect British taste sensation, which seems a little unfair given we’re a) in America and b) I’m far from home and am probably operating a little too much on nostalgia. Tomat and Wilde’s are both excellent restaurants, and for Americans who want to taste test some British dishes, you won’t be disappointed. 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.covers the daily drumbeat of Southern California with a focus on the housing and homelessness challenges confronting some of our most vulnerable residents. The 13th annual ceremony hosted by the Los Angeles Unified Homeless Education Office was hosted in a hotel ballroom near L.A. Live.
Nearly 150 graduating high school seniors who’ve experienced homelessness were celebrated Thursday in downtown L.A. at a ceremony held by the Los Angeles Unified School District. Some of the students, who came from 60 schools around the region, had been chronically unhoused, struggled with finding transportation to school or didn’t know where they were going to sleep at night.
But educators said the 13th annual graduate recognition ceremony wasn't just about the “tremendous obstacles” they had to overcome to earn their diplomas — it’s a celebration of their resilience and bright futures ahead.
“ You deserved calm waters, you deserved a boring, easy journey to get across the stage this morning,” Sadie Stockdale Jefferson, executive director of the LAUSD Education Foundation, said during the ceremony. “And while it's absolutely unfair that you've had to be so resilient … look around the room, all the people here today, how incredibly proud everyone is of you.
”After they get their diplomas next month, many of the students will go on to attend college — some of them at Ivy League universities — enroll in trade schools or join the military, among other plans. Nearly 150 graduating high school seniors who’ve experienced homelessness were celebrated Thursday at a ceremony held by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Some of the students, who came from 60 schools around the region, had been chronically unhoused, struggled with finding transportation to school or didn’t know where they were going to sleep at night. But educators said the 13th annual graduate recognition ceremony, held in downtown L.A. , wasn't just about the “tremendous obstacles” they had to overcome to earn their diplomas. It was a celebration of their resilience and of their futures.
Sadie Stockdale Jefferson, executive director of the LAUSD Education Foundation, said the honored students have proven they can weather a storm.
“ You deserved calm waters, you deserved a boring, easy journey to get across the stage this morning,” she said during the ceremony. “And while it's absolutely unfair that you've had to be so resilient … look around the room, all the people here today, how incredibly proud everyone is of you.
”During the ceremony, the students listened to speeches from educators and classmates, some were awarded scholarships and others won raffled gift baskets with themes like “college move in” or “cozy night. ” The seniors were joined by friends, family and loved ones who helped support them on their way to the graduation stage.
After they get their diplomas next month, many of the students will go on to attend college — some of them at Ivy League universities — enroll in trade schools or join the military, among other plans. Daniel Jammal, an 18-year-old from John Marshall High School in Los Feliz, told LAist he lived in Syria for most of his life before flying to California about three years ago, all on his own.
His most impactful memories include using Google Translate to get through class assignments, making new friends and video chatting with his family “where they support me even with the distance and the miles — the thousands of miles,” he said. Jammal lived in Syria during the civil war, during which his uncle was injured. He said the wounds were treatable, but his uncle didn’t have access to the healthcare he needed and later died.
“ His legacy and honor still lives in me and motivates me every single day to push harder and study biomedical engineering,” he said. Jammal said he will be going to Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in the fall. His goal is to one day create devices that will help people in healthcare, especially those facing discrimination or accessibility issues, he said.
Lesley Davila, 18, from Dr. Maya Angelou Community High School in South Park, said she wants to become a flight attendant to learn more about the world and other cultures.
“ You're more than capable,” she said. “You have to believe in yourself and go for it, no matter what they tell you. ”Denise Miranda, the school district’s director of student support programs, said the ceremony is a result all educators want to see. While in school, some of the students didn’t have a parent or guardian in the picture.
Others stayed with extended family or couch-surfed with friends. Miranda said the role of theis to help monitor attendance, support students with basic needs and be “that caring adult so they can thrive successfully every day as they come to school within LAUSD. ” Elsy Rosado, administrator of LAUSD’s Student Support and Attendance Services branch, compared the process to an onion — peeling back layers of life so the students can do their best at school each day.
“ There were probably moments when this day may have felt far away. Moments of stress, uncertainty, exhaustion and doubt,” Rosado said during the ceremony.
“But despite all of that, you are here and you made it. “A high school diploma is not the end. It is the beginning of new opportunities, new experiences and new possibilities. ”explores how college students achieve their goals, whether they’re fresh out of high school, pursuing graduate work or looking to join the labor force through alternative pathways.
California State University officials have renewed the system's contract with OpenAI, a leading generative artificial intelligence company that has established business deals with universities across the country. Under the renewed contract, the CSU will pay $13 million a year to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT college product for three years, “with the option to cancel annually with advance notice,” said CSU spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith.
The new agreement also expands access to 675,000 users and enables students to continue using the product up to one year after graduation. University officials say providing access to quality AI tools is an equity issue and that the CSU needs to prepare students for the future.
But when ChatGPT was first implemented across the system, faculty raised concerns about AI’sCalifornia State University officials have renewed the system's contract with OpenAI, a leading generative artificial intelligence company that has established business deals with universities across the country. Under the renewed contract, the CSU will pay $13 million a year to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT college product for three years, “with the option to cancel annually with advance notice,” said CSU spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith.
The new agreement also expands access to 675,000 users and enables students to continue using the product up to one year after graduation. University officials say providing access to quality AI tools is an equity issue and that the CSU needs to prepare students for the future. According to Bentley-Smith, the CSU’s decision to renew the contract “was made following extensive evaluation and input from across the system.
Our stakeholders, including the CSU’sand its three subcommittees unanimously recommended renewing the contract. ... This was not a one-time consultation, but an ongoing and iterative process intended to balance innovation, risk management and educational outcomes. ” "We recognize that artificial intelligence is a topic that has sparked important debate and a wide range of perspectives, and we take seriously the concerns expressed about the ethical and responsible use of AI,” Bentley-Smith added.
She also noted that, under the new contract, “the per-subscriber cost is lower than during the first contract and substantially lower than the price offered by any other vendor. ”with the company, CSU paid a much better rate than other universities, albeit for a lot more users — roughly $1.9 million dollars to make ChatGPT available to 40,000 users during the first six months of 2025.
Then, from July 2025 to June 2026, the university system paid another $15 million to make the product available to 500,000 users.
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