Traci Park's Olympic parking lot
A notoriously anti-bike lane councilmember is using the "car-free" games to stop a fully approved 100 percent affordable housing development
Traci Park's Olympic parking lot
A notoriously anti-bike lane councilmember is using the "car-free" games to stop a fully approved 100 percent affordable housing development
Latest
It's a marathon, not a sprint
When you've committed to holding a Summer Olympics, a marathon route becomes a guaranteed death march
"You can see how the sports events coming up are definitely a risk"
There is growing concern around the absence of a cohesive human trafficking prevention strategy for LA's megaevent era
How to get people excited about transit
"It will literally be your best selling t-shirt, it will get you so much PR, and if anyone interprets this inappropriately that's a them problem"
Torched Talks with feminist sports writer Jennifer Doyle
Join a self-described "sports crank" on March 16 at 3 p.m. on Zoom
LA28's big gamble
Casey Wasserman's own company forced him out — and now LA28 really expects the city to embrace him?
Venue plans
The [your brand here] Olympics
The Palantir Deep Dive Center will really give the sport a whole new meaning
The transit-first (no, really) games
In the end, LA28 put the events where the public transportation will already be
Bump, set, spike
Santa Monica mounted a sustained, publicly transparent campaign to challenge what LA28 was offering. And, in the end, that's probably what sent the organizing committee packing for other shores
Significant headwinds
On Friday we saw the first serious challenge of LA28's venue plan, which had gone largely uncontested by LA city leaders. And we saw an LA city councilmember openly accuse LA28 of making backroom deals to create that venue plan
Shade
It's a marathon, not a sprint
When you've committed to holding a Summer Olympics, a marathon route becomes a guaranteed death march
A force of nature
When institutions threw up constraints, Melanie Winter's tenacity surged — just like the river she championed
Promises, promises
LA28's Impact and Sustainability Plan is a needed and long-overdue start, but omits more than it commits
Trains
Trump derail train
It was always clear that Trump's democracy-dismantling project would be coming for the state's high-speed rail, something he openly denigrated throughout his last presidency
"If it hasn't broken ground by now, it's not happening"
It's time for paint, posts, and political will
Buses
Travel advisory
Sean Duffy's feigned hand-wringing on behalf of one federal department about the inconvenience of rerouting a few buses is simply revolting as another federal department is literally kidnapping people from bus stops
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
Labor
Why won't LA28 stand up for LA's immigrants?
"An Olympics and Paralympics security plan that gives control to a federal administration that is already attacking immigrants in our city and across the nation puts our entire community at risk"
"Without these workers the games will not happen"
A sternly worded letter sent on behalf of over 30,000 hospitality workers to the Los Angeles World Cup Host Committee, along with the heads of the IOC, LA28, and FIFA, urges them to endorse the Olympic wage — or there might not be any games at all
The Olympic wage
“We’re demanding a new deal for the Olympics that includes family-sustaining jobs and affordable housing for workers"
Parks
Confronting LA's park crisis
LA's Park Needs Assessment provides a roadmap — or perhaps a well-shaded, native-planted pathmap? — for a department that's been asked to do more and more with less
Civic promise
What Angelenos need right now, more than ever, is a commitment to the spaces that we share with each other
The state of play
Last year, I wrote about how LA's ParkScore had dropped from 80th to 88th out of 100 U.S. cities. This year, I'm sorry to say that we sank even lower — LA is now 90th out of 100.
Trump's games
LA28's big gamble
Casey Wasserman's own company forced him out — and now LA28 really expects the city to embrace him?
A city that can't win
LA has limited options to get out of hosting in 2028 — but LA does have options
Why won't LA28 stand up for LA's immigrants?
"An Olympics and Paralympics security plan that gives control to a federal administration that is already attacking immigrants in our city and across the nation puts our entire community at risk"
Supergraphics
When you can't find the words
When the news renders you speechless, you can always find a response that Corita already ripped from the headlines
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"
Hot links
It's a marathon, not a sprint
When you've committed to holding a Summer Olympics, a marathon route becomes a guaranteed death march
How to get people excited about transit
"It will literally be your best selling t-shirt, it will get you so much PR, and if anyone interprets this inappropriately that's a them problem"
Hey now, you're an All-Star
There are basketball-adjacent activations happening all weekend in more places than you might think
Torched favorites
Heading into year two
LA got burned. By the fires, yes. But also by a self-induced fiscal catastrophe
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
Events
Tour ATSAC with Torched on November 19
Join 🔥🔥 subscribers for what's become a beloved annual tradition
Torched turns 1: A week of talks and toasts April 21-25
In a time of great uncertainty, Torched will always be about people coming together for LA
Tour ATSAC with Torched on November 26
Join 🔥🔥 subscribers to see one of the most famous legacy improvements of the 1984 Summer Olympics
Torched Talks
Torched Talks with feminist sports writer Jennifer Doyle
Join a self-described "sports crank" on March 16 at 3 p.m. on Zoom
Torched Talks with SAJE's Chris Tyler and Neil deMause
We're talking about the pitfalls and perils of hosting on February 19 at noon on Zoom
Torched Talks with OLIN's Jessica Henson
Let's talk about what our parks need on January 23 at 11 a.m.
Now you can binge all the Torched Talks
I've published the recordings for you to consume anytime you need a megaevent reality check. (Sorry.)
Answers to your burning questions
Why won't LA28 stand up for LA's immigrants?
"An Olympics and Paralympics security plan that gives control to a federal administration that is already attacking immigrants in our city and across the nation puts our entire community at risk"
What if the world doesn't come?
If millions of international visitors do, in fact, come to LA, it will be at their own peril
Heading into year two
LA got burned. By the fires, yes. But also by a self-induced fiscal catastrophe
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