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The spreadsheet brigade that's keeping LA's rental market from exploding
There's an army of volunteers at their keyboards right now, all over the country, preventing the ignition of a secondary disaster by snuffing out LA's price-gouging rentals
Can LA still host the Olympics?
The IOC doesn't care if LA holds its games or not. And perhaps more troublingly, the city of LA will happily brush aside its own emergencies in order to stage a megaevent
Not the end, the beginning
After speaking with so many people this year who are working so hard to make this place actually work, I'm seeing another way to tell LA's megaevent story
The no-build (until-we-need-to-build-something-fast) games
LA could leverage this ordinance to make it easier to create new public spaces, public bathrooms, and even public housing leading up to 2028
Expo Park is so not ready for its close up
The headlines that trumpet a "$350 million makeover" for Expo Park ahead of 2028 are flat-out misleading
Paul's boutique
With less than 3.5 years until the opening ceremonies, the termed-out council president emeritus is taking on a new megaevent department, a new role, and a whole lot of city baggage
Torched Talks with Olympic scholar Gustavo Lopes dos Santos
Bring your questions about how megaevents impact host cities and join us Monday, December 9 at 2 p.m. on Zoom
Buses
Everybody calm down
LA is a big city where many things happen in our multimodal, multitudinous region every single day
The waiting is the hardest part
LA officials keep saying the new bus shelter program is "for the Olympics." What we're installing isn't good enough for a Thursday afternoon
Olympic lanes
Before everyone spins Kathy Hochul's cowardice into a death knell for LA's congestion pricing dreams, it's important to know that there are lots of different ways to do road pricing
What we need is a surge of bus investments
A majority of Metro's nearly 1 million daily passengers are bus riders, who are often left waiting in more ways than one
Trains
"If it hasn't broken ground by now, it's not happening"
It's time for paint, posts, and political will
A bright spot
We're Californians — of course we're turning all our freeways into super-fast trains!
How do we get there from here
What happened to 28 by 28 is what's happening to a lot of LA's Olympic-related goals at the moment: a flashy announcement got a lot of attention yet had no strategy to actually make it happen
Shade
The waiting is the hardest part
LA officials keep saying the new bus shelter program is "for the Olympics." What we're installing isn't good enough for a Thursday afternoon
Fair weather
Learning how the LA County Fair took heat seriously is a warning for other megaevents planned during Southern California's increasingly dangerous summers
"Don't be a palm, be an oak"
Of course LA should plant actual trees before the Olympics, but which trees should we actually plant?
The best time to plant a tree
Starting today could provide a bit of respite for Olympic ticketholders making their way to the diving finals on a sweltering July afternoon — and someone waiting at the same bus stop trying to get to work
Car-free games
Service disruptions
"The immediate-term outcome is that the discretionary grants from the federal government are going to be oriented away from urban areas, communities of color, and pedestrian, bike and transit projects"
Meeting our megaevent moment
A report from last month's UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium, intended to both illuminate existing challenges and light a path forward for progress, reveals deep frustrations and grave concerns about LA's megaevent planning
Everybody calm down
LA is a big city where many things happen in our multimodal, multitudinous region every single day
The super Bowl
When the LA Phil season ended earlier this month, the Hollywood Bowl reported that the number of visitors who used the shuttles and park-and-ride buses this year had increased to an astounding 36 percent
Accessibility
Meeting our megaevent moment
A report from last month's UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium, intended to both illuminate existing challenges and light a path forward for progress, reveals deep frustrations and grave concerns about LA's megaevent planning
LA has a plan
Executive Directive 9, signed today by LA Mayor Karen Bass, will force LA's infrastructure spending to align with a set of citywide priorities around climate, safety, and accessibility
Making concrete plans
Talking to UCLA's Juan Matute about this year's Lake Arrowhead Symposium and how LA can leverage megaevents to create lasting public benefits
"Kids are going to be disappointed that they can’t follow their dreams"
As LA officials gathered in Paris for the Olympics, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed against the city on behalf of four plaintiffs with mobility disabilities, including one 10-year-old child, who say they are "denied full and equal access to its parks and park facilities"
Supergraphics
An invasion of butterflies
"Somehow I saw in my head the sky and the ground sprinkled like confetti — sprinkled with all magical stuff that shimmered and that expressed joy"
Venue plans
Paul's boutique
With less than 3.5 years until the opening ceremonies, the termed-out council president emeritus is taking on a new megaevent department, a new role, and a whole lot of city baggage
Beyond city limits
LA28's chief athlete officer Janet Evans was deployed to assure everyone that the city of LA "will host more Olympic sports than anywhere else" which is repeated several times in Friday's venue announcement
Change of venue
In the simplest terms, what LA28 announced yesterday is that seven events are moving out of the city of LA, and seven events are moving into the city of LA
Torched favorites
Not the end, the beginning
After speaking with so many people this year who are working so hard to make this place actually work, I'm seeing another way to tell LA's megaevent story
Conventional wisdom
"This was originally supposed to be a 'no-build' Olympics, and that's what the commitment was to the public"
Hot links
Expo Park is so not ready for its close up
The headlines that trumpet a "$350 million makeover" for Expo Park ahead of 2028 are flat-out misleading
Culture clubs
Here's a chance to have a broader conversation about the role gathering places play — and can play long after the games — across the entire region
The Olympics are literally a disaster
It's less like a football game and more like a major earthquake
We don't need to learn from Paris
For better or for worse, LA created the contemporary Olympics. What could we possibly learn about that we didn't invent first?
Events
Tour ATSAC on November 26
Join 🔥🔥 subscribers to see one of the most famous legacy improvements of the 1984 Summer Olympics
LA JEOOOOOPARDY + Torched meet and greet on August 12
Come for a meet and greet at Zebulon and stay to watch me defend my LA Jeopardy crown for the 4th time 👑
What Are the Olympics For? Q&A with Jules Boykoff on June 8
Introducing the very first of many Torched events. Upgrade to 🔥🔥 for early access to all talks and tours!
Torched Talks
Torched Talks with Olympic scholar Gustavo Lopes dos Santos
Bring your questions about how megaevents impact host cities and join us Monday, December 9 at 2 p.m. on Zoom
Torched Talks with UCLA's Juan Matute
Bring your questions about megaevent planning and join us live on Zoom on November 18 for the next Torched Talks
Torched Talks with Katherine Perez, Aaron Paley, and Ruth Siegel of Los Angeles Tomorrow
Focus on the future and join us live on Zoom on October 28 for the next Torched Talks
Torched Talks with the Festival Trail's Chris Torres
Grab an afternoon snack and join us live on Zoom on October 7 for the next Torched Talks
Answers to your burning questions
Can LA still host the Olympics?
The IOC doesn't care if LA holds its games or not. And perhaps more troublingly, the city of LA will happily brush aside its own emergencies in order to stage a megaevent
How Boston brought the Olympics to LA
"If your city has politicians telling you that the only way they're going to fix your transit system is by throwing a party for people from around the world, you go get yourself a better politician"
Here's what LA's "car-free" games could look like
Now which LA officials will step up to pledge their commitment?
Why did LA28 hire an Army general as CEO?
Three days after Reynold Hoover started as LA28 CEO, the 2028 Summer Olympics were officially designated a National Special Security Event — the furthest in advance that this designation has ever been made