Jessica Koslow

A coastal city near San Diego, Carlsbad has become synonymous with LEGOLAND California Resort. The family theme park has been entertaining families since 1999 across 128 acres. Over the years, the park has expanded, adding new attractions—its newest is the just-launched, as of this March, LEGO Galaxy, which joins the Water Park and SEA LIFE Aquarium San Diego.  

What to Do

The opening of LEGO Galaxy is a milestone that marks one of the most ambitious expansions in the park’s history. The immersive new land features the indoor family rollercoaster Galacticoaster. Visitors can design their own spacecraft at Customization Bays by digitally selecting the nose, tail, wings and a special feature—such as a disco ball or balloons—resulting in more than 625 unique spacecraft combinations. Space Cadets can see themselves “riding” in the vehicle that they designed. The experience begins with interactive pre-shows and a briefing from Biff Dipper, the Park’s first robotic minifigure, before launching into twists and turns up to 40 mph, with LEGO Space sets, cinematic storytelling, and onboard sound and lighting. . . .

Read the entire article at Playa Vista Magazine.

Some entrepreneurs struggle for years and never make it. Others get it right on the first try.

Samohi sophomores and close friends Bo Okin and Davio Sokolow have hit paydirt with Mercury Denim. Okin, who designs the jeans, and Sokolow, who oversees the legal and financial side of the business, have only dropped two designs of 100 jeans each, one in September 2025 and the other in February 2026; the first sold out in under 5 minutes and the second in 7 seconds. The jeans are available exclusively through their website with no advertising and no outside backing. The third drop is scheduled for August.

“Most of the buyers, we have no idea who they are,” said Okin. “There’s been sales out of the country, a few in Japan, a few in Italy, some in Paris. Mostly how the word gets out is that I manage the social media and the promotion of our jeans. I mostly promote on TikTok and Instagram. I post every single day, and that definitely gets the word out.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

On March 9, 2024, the Venice Heritage Museum (VHM) celebrated its grand opening at 228 Main Street in Venice, and in the fall of 2025, the museum closed its doors.

“We knew when we moved into the other space it was not a sustainable solution because we were paying rent, and we had a grant for the first year’s rent,” explained Carol Levy, the president of the VHM board. “We were hoping that during that period of time we’d be able to find a permanent home, but it took longer than expected.”

On March 21, 2 years after its first opening, VHM celebrated its grand re-opening at its new location at Westminster Park at 1234 Pacific Avenue in Venice. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Luther Vandross once told Barry Krutchik the meaning behind his middle name: Ronzoni (yes, like the pasta). Vanilla Ice was the first cover story he ever wrote, and he was paid $200. R. Kelly revealed the time he almost fainted when he met his idol Stevie Wonder in the men’s room, and he sang for him on the spot.

What’s a person to do with so many spoken treasures — verbal gems collected over a lifetime of interviewing celebrities? During the pandemic, when life slowed to a standstill, Krutchik decided to move into high gear and compile his sessions into a book: “Classic Conversations: ’90s Hip Hop & R&B.”

Krutchik has lived a “crazy, interesting,” celebrity-filled life, one that he could never have imagined growing up in North Miami Beach, Florida. After attending college in the Midwest, he decided on a whim — responding to what he called a gravitational pull — to move to Los Angeles. He had big plans to be a screenwriter . . . until, he explained, “reality stepped in and you kind of have to go with it.” . . .

TRead the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.