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
While you were watching the Olympics, Henry Grabar was watching the Olympics. As a correspondent for Slate, he wrote 17 stories, publishing one each day of the Paris games. He has them all listed, along with more behind-the-scenes, in his newsletter Ground Floor: "If you’re looking for my most cynical take on the games, you’ll want to read my 48 questions on Day 16. If you’re looking for the most joy, you’ll want to read about the bicycle race on Day 9."
Day 14 is an interview with me about LA's preparations, which I wrote more about in my last news roundup. And since Henry and I are more or less covering the same microbeat — Olympics minus the sports — we had a lot of questions for each other we couldn't get to in our short conversation. When the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics were over, we thought, it might be interesting to reconvene and compare notes — and we wanted to invite all Torched readers all to have that conversation with us, one day after the Paralympics handover.
So that's what we're going to do. Grab a baguette or two and join us live on Zoom for the first-ever Torched Talks!
Torched Talks with Slate's Henry Grabar September 9, 2024 12:00 to 1 p.m. Pacific Time
🗣️ Torched Talks is an ongoing series of conversations with experts on topics facing LA in its megaevent era. Simply join the Zoom to watch. Become a paid subscriber and you'll have access to the video afterwards
🥳 And there's another Torched event this month! For paid subscribers, the Torched launch party is coming up on Saturday, September 21. If you're planning on being there, RSVP here so I can get a headcount
🚧 For a refresher on what LA has planned (or doesn't have planned) for 2028, check out my conversation with Juan Matute, deputy director of UCLA’s Institute of Transportation Studies. He's coordinating this year's UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium with a focus on "developing concrete plans for leveraging these megaevents to create lasting public benefits"
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
