The neighborhood was anticipating The Italian Deli Co. with bated breath. After The George closed on East Washington Boulevard, people asked when owner Gary Chaglasyan would open for business.
Photo by: Chris Mortenson
“It was amazing,” said Chaglasyan. “People were stopping by every day and asking when we would be open and if we could do anything for them. We have had amazing support from the community.”
Chaglasyan shared that people were sending cards congratulating them for opening. One lady in particular sent a postcard detailing how she was leaving for Ireland, but was hoping to be their first customer. . . .
On Thursday, Aug. 21, Thomas Safran & Associates (TSA) hosted the grand opening of Thatcher Yard, consisting of 98 affordable and supportive housing units for seniors and non-age-restricted residents located at 3311 S. Thatcher Avenue in Marina del Rey.
Both founder Thomas Safran and Jordan Pynes, the president of TSA, were on hand mingling with guests, including LA Councilmember Traci Park; Elizabeth Selby, director of development and finance for the Los Angeles Housing Department; Carlos Van Natter, director of Section 8 at the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) and Paul Buckland, senior vice president of fund investments for Wells Fargo.
In 1974, Safran left the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to start his own company, and for over 50 years, TSA has specialized in developing and managing high-quality properties. It has created 6,500 units of luxury, affordable and mixed-use rental housing in Southern California. . . .
Laura Vega never saw Fernando Valenzuela, the legendary Mexican Major League Baseball pitcher, play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. At the time, the team did outreach at local high schools, and Vega was lucky enough to have the players sign her glove.
“I am 62,” said Vega, of Pasadena. “I remember when this giant came to the Dodgers. I was a huge Dodgers fan (and of players) Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Tommy Lasorda.”
Vega is now a professional actress who will return to CASA 0101 in “Fernandomania,” a collection of 10-minute world-premiere plays focusing on the MLB legend’s effect on the city. “Fernandomania” is part of CASA 0101 Theater’s 25th anniversary season, presented by founding member Josefina López and Emmanuel Deleage, executive director. . . .
Founded in 1985, Heal the Bay has been making waves of change by helping to protect the coastline, restore waterways, and speak out for clean water policy across watersheds. How does it accomplish this? Partly with the aid of volunteers, because ripples make waves. The kid-friendly Heal the Bay Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier features more than 100 species of marine life that live right offshore.
Venice Family Clinic has devoted more than five decades to providing quality care to 45,000 individuals, families, and communities from the Santa Monica Mountains through the South Bay. In 2023, the community health center celebrated the completion of its renovation at its flagship site, which was renamed the Chuck Lorre Rose Avenue Health and Wellness Center. The clinic’s comprehensive care includes mental health services, dental care, vision services, substance use treatment, prescription medications, domestic violence counseling, HIV services, healthy food distributions, health education, health insurance enrollment and child development services.
Multidisciplinary artist d. Sabela grimes counts Octavia E. Butler as one writer who has had a profound impact on his life’s work. There are others, such as Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, Alice Walker and Audre Lorde; however, on this particular day we met to discuss Butler and her influence on his Parable of Portals, which is showing on September 6, 2025 at 7:30 pm at Sierra Madre Playhouse. Tickets are on sale now.
Parable of Portals is a constellation of works that draws from Butler’s personal and professional manuscripts. Each module is autonomous, yet the whole is threaded through and opens up the possibilities for accumulation, reconfiguration (including subtraction) and relation. Each project carries the DNA of the others.
It all began as a short experimental film collaboration between grimes and Meena Murugesan, called “AdiSea DAWNing.” Shot on Catalina, the 5-minute film starred Adisah Grimes, his son, as the sole actor and mover and referenced his son’s name and Butler’s novel, Dawn. It screened at BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia in 2018 and at MOCA in Los Angeles in 2019. . . .
The audience packed into the Kirk Douglas Theatre on Thursday night, August 21, was made up of young and old fans and composers, but mostly young. Violinist and singer Emer Kinsella of Emersion Music brought together a lineup of composers, musicians, singers and dancers that she has worked with throughout her career for a 75-minute journey of transformation, MOSAIC: in the program’s words, “a hero’s story moving from shadow to light, from searching to becoming.”
Photo by: Nawako Kato
The program was split into six levels, each one consisting of two parts that paired the music of Emer’s new album, Concurrence, with the work of other Emmy and Grammy-affiliated film and TV composers. The theme for each was belonging and the many ways we search for it. . . .
When Tiffany “Jimini” Bong, founding executive director and artistic director of UniverSOUL Hip Hop Dance Company, was developing WonderLAnd! with her company, they asked themselves, “What does the community and city of L.A. need right now?” The answer was wonder, and it wiggled its way throughout the immersive cultural celebration at The Ford Amphitheatre on August 17, 2025 as part of its LA Soundscapes Family Concerts series.
Photo by: Jonathan Jimenez
“We are intentionally creating a sensory-friendly space for all people to experience wonder again,” Bong stated on Instagram, “to reconnect with their joy with themselves and with each other.”
The concert was billed as best for ages 3-11; however, the skill level and artistry of the dancers were ready-made for all ages. The cast consisted of: Bong as the sparrow, Rebekah “Beks” Denegal as the Leader, Darrel “Friidom” Dunn as the artist and father, Jaylin Sanders as the prodigal son, Mariah Stevens as the spirit, Kirk “Patches” Viloria in the role of the friend and Tai Ryan White as the warrior. Each dancer, and most double as teaching artists with UniverSOUL, brought their own unique movement talents to the production—all hip-hop and most rooted in L.A. culture. On brilliant display were Campbellocking, waving and animation. . . .
The ocean and psychological well-being are very important to Brian and Eric Barr, the sibling duo behind Feeling Swell, a Venice-based lifestyle brand and foundation inspired by surfing and rooted in mental health.
Photo by: Chris Mortenson
Born in the New Jersey suburb of Bridgewater, from an early age the brothers felt completely at home at the beach. Brian grew up as a swimmer and, like his father, attended Brown University. Eric caught the surfing bug early, and spent two years at Saddleback College in Orange County’s Mission Viejo. Post-college both gravitated to Los Angeles. Eric spent 10 years in San Clemente, Huntington and then L.A. (where he has lived for the past five years) while Brian has called the Westside home for four years.
The Feeling Swell Foundation was originally launched in 2015 as a grassroots fundraising initiative in the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s destruction along the Jersey Shore. Raised in a family that emphasized community and compassion, the brothers saw Feeling Swell as a way to uplift others during a time of crisis. . . .
First Hal’s Bar & Grill called the Runway space home, and then Neighbors, Misael Villa’s popular brunch spot, replaced it in 2022. Longtime restaurateur Chris Sessa and his nephew Frank Agnone, executive producer of “South Park,” both live in Playa Vista and have watched these eateries come and go. In February 2024, the two began to hatch their own plan for a sports bar concept on the Westside.
Photo by: Chris Mortenson
The prospective building had to be the right height because they had plans to install 30 TVs, some as big as 85 inches. When Suite 140 on the Runway became available, Sessa and Agnone knew they had found their spot. Tony P’s Dockside Grill in Marina del Rey would soon be closing, and there were no sports bars within a 7 to 8-mile radius of Playa Vista.
On May 1, 2025, they received the keys to the suite and went to work creating a welcoming lounge space. There was no architect involved and no plans or blueprints, just a vision etched in their minds. They changed the booth seats from brown to red to brighten it up. Sports memorabilia covers the walls, from Kobe Bryant’s No. 8 jersey — which is valued at $15,000 — to a photograph of Magic Johnson in flight and a portrait of Hank Aaron. The bar replicates stadium seating with TV screens viewable from every angle. . . .
Rancho Cucamonga may not be well known as a dreamy travel destination, but that might be changing with the recent opening of Sanctity Hotel and Durango Cocina & Rooftop, the only rooftop bar in the area. Located a little over an hour from Los Angeles and just south of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest, the quiet city in San Bernardino County is popping up on trip radars for a duo of new offerings on Base Line Road. . . .
Jessica Koslow 