Thanks for this. With climate change, we need a shade canopy of some sort.
Alissa Walker
@awalkerinla.bsky.social
I'm a writer and a walker in LA. Tracking the city's megaevent progress at Torched. LA Podcast co-host, new episodes drop every Monday. LAUSD mom. @awalkerinla everywhere else. Sign up for my newsletter at torched.la 🔥
What does high-quality shade look like? And after what we saw at the World Cup, does LA have any hope at deploying these solutions for even larger events? I tapped two @weareshadela.bsky.social experts to give their frank opinions on LA's best (and worst) attempts at combatting extreme heat
Hot or Not? World Cup edition
Two experts evaluate the shade interventions at this summer's tournament
torched.la
Should there have been better communication from the Rose Bowl and Pasadena officials about the pool closure? Of course. But Expo Park swimmers are losing their pool for three summers — maybe more — and there's been no public communication like this from LA officials or LA28 aside from my May story
Sorry Rose Bowl swimmers, but it's very typical to lose access to a venue before the Olympics — and LA28 made a deal with Pasadena that includes planned upgrades and a clear timeline. The real story — barely mentioned here — is how LA28 ghosted Expo Park's empty pool with a promise and no plan
Impending closure of Rose Bowl pools for Olympics preparation has the aqua-set in a funk
LA28 plans to hold Olympic diving events at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in Pasadena. A prolonged construction closure has patrons worried.
latimes.com
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 2mo agoSouth LA residents were told they'd lose access to Expo Center's lap pool during the summer of 2028 but due to a leak and a deal the city made with LA28, now the neighborhood will be pool-less for at three steamy summers (and likely more). All this and the latest news in a long-weekend Hot Links 🔥
Also, public buses won't be allowed in "red" zones... But people still live and work there.
Think about how much it's going to cost to KEEP these people out of these zones, and how much it would cost to provide real assistance that could get them into permanent housing.
The county estimates 1,600 homeless people will be displaced by these perimeters. But think carefully about who else will be impacted: vendors, day laborers, even residents in their homes. What kind of outreach is starting now to inform people about how their lives will look two years from now?
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 21h agoFantastic reporting here by Libby Rainey that confirms what we've been hearing about the "clean zones" around LA28 venues: "Carter Hewgley, chief strategy officer for L.A. County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, said his office had been told to plan for perimeters as wide as a mile"
Fantastic reporting here by Libby Rainey that confirms what we've been hearing about the "clean zones" around LA28 venues: "Carter Hewgley, chief strategy officer for L.A. County’s Department of Homeless Services and Housing, said his office had been told to plan for perimeters as wide as a mile"
The LA Olympics is expected to displace unhoused people living around venues. So what's the plan?
L.A. officials say people living on the streets will likely have to leave certain areas come 2028. They don't know how they'll be moved or who will pay for it.
laist.com
"According to four executives at U.S. host city committees... FIFA management repeatedly assured the cities they would receive the same $1 million contribution towards legacy, despite no public statement ever being made by the organization"
U.S. cities chasing FIFA over millions of dollars after hosting World Cup games
nytimes.com
This research sounds shady! LOL. All kidding aside, every urban environment needs more trees. Science shows how easy it is to have cooler neighborhoods with a nice canopy.
this is great. related: Warped Tour in Long Beach essentially did not try to do shade two weekends ago and that's been the main topic of conversation I've seen online since. People were laying down under like, trash cans and sign posts www.reddit.com/r/warpedtour... www.reddit.com/r/warpedtour...
From the warpedtour community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the warpedtour community
reddit.com
What does high-quality shade look like? And after what we saw at the World Cup, does LA have any hope at deploying these solutions for even larger events? I tapped two @weareshadela.bsky.social experts to give their frank opinions on LA's best (and worst) attempts at combatting extreme heat
Hot or Not? World Cup edition
Two experts evaluate the shade interventions at this summer's tournament
torched.la
The first segment of this week's This American Life features Rick Cole (@urbanistcole.bsky.social) talking to Ira Glass about the surprise military "exercises" in Pasadena and elsewhere which were ostensibly training for the World Cup. This is fantastic radio; a must-listen
I Couldn't Help but Notice - This American Life
People dealing with new, glaring, massive changes happening right where they live.
thisamericanlife.org
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 2mo agoCouncilmember Rick Cole was out all night in Pasadena and honestly is the only elected official who is properly expressing the outrage at the federal government felt by terrified constituents — in this case living across the street from where homes were burned in the Eaton Fire
Exclusive: We obtained a leaked playbook that Flock gives to cops to coach them on "how to speak to city council" to avoid getting their contracts canceled. Includes strategies like "own the narrative" by talking to mayor "before public comment periods" www.404media.co/own-the-narr...
‘Own the Narrative’: Leaked Flock Guide Shows How It Teaches Cops to Promote Its Tech
"This document shows a coordinated effort from Flock Safety to compel law enforcement agencies to convince our elected leaders to represent their interests as a company rather than the interests of co...
404media.co
L.A. County cities reject appointment of pro-freeway Santa Clarita Republican Jason Gibbs to Metro board la.streetsblog.org/2026/07/30/s...
Selection Committee Fails to Approve Santa Clarita Councilmember Jason Gibbs for Metro Board - Streetsblog Los Angeles
Cities throughout L.A. County rejected Gibbs appointment to the Metro Board. The decision sends the appointment back to the North County and San Fernando Valley subregion.
la.streetsblog.org
It’s not that he’s a Republican. It’s that someone who doesn’t understand transportation issues shouldn’t make transportation decisions for the 10 Million people of LA County. 1 M people ride LA Metro every day (not counting riders of dozens of smaller transit agencies). He was unqualified
Streetsblog L.A.@streetsblogla.bsky.social · 6d agoL.A. County cities reject appointment of pro-freeway Santa Clarita Republican Jason Gibbs to Metro board la.streetsblog.org/2026/07/30/s...
LAX's Theme Building was once a shining symbol of Los Angeles' Space Age future. Now it's a sad shell of the past. What happened? Dave Schilling launched his own mini-investigation to find out. Read more: lamaterial.com/p/lax-neglec...
The Neglected Crown Jewel of LAX
LAX’s Theme Building was once an iconic symbol of Los Angeles’ Space Age Future. What happened?
lamaterial.com
RAP said it would have an after-action report but I keep coming back to the part where the city is just letting events happen without a signed agreement. This wasn't a Hansen Dam situation, this event was planned with the council district and the agreement was made *with Traci Park's cooperation*
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 3w agoCommissioners say that RAP needs to have these contracts in place before events happen, especially ahead of the Olympics and Paralympics. Is this something that happens a lot? A commercial venue would never allow this?!?!?
Venice isn't letting this go. At tonight's meeting, the NC just passed this motion 15-1. I would definitely agree with their interpretation that this event did not qualify for a Coastal Commission exemption because there was no free component as promised. Agenda: www.venicenc.org/assets/docum...
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 3w agoLast night the Venice Neighborhood Council heard residents' complaints about last weekend's fan zone that privatized the beach. Here's one letter that details the potential violations — including heavy promotion of the events on Traci Park's social media accounts: www.venicenc.org/assets/docum...
LA was awash in mini-parties for the last month! Reading through Alissa Walker's Torched round-up, the big theme is HEAT and SHADE! While we were roasting without enough shade at LACMA last Friday, we gave LA a B+, pretty good but room for improvement. Read more in her list below!
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · last wk.One week ago this morning I woke up with a severe case of public space withdrawal. Local officials had made Los Angeles a promise: to bring the World Cup to every community. Did they succeed? Here are 39 reflections — one for each day.
great article alissa! loved the daily updates here on bsky and can attest that the best watch parties were in the neighborhoods. and i went to a lot of neighborhoods 😅
Great summary from @awalkerinla.bsky.social! Most important notes, IMHO: - Metro led the way - LA is unprepared for extreme heat and bad air quality
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · last wk.One week ago this morning I woke up with a severe case of public space withdrawal. Local officials had made Los Angeles a promise: to bring the World Cup to every community. Did they succeed? Here are 39 reflections — one for each day.
One week ago this morning I woke up with a severe case of public space withdrawal. Local officials had made Los Angeles a promise: to bring the World Cup to every community. Did they succeed? Here are 39 reflections — one for each day.
The best World Cup party was the one in your neighborhood
And 38 more reflections on LA's summer of soccer
torched.la
"Metropolis develops technology for checkout-free payments and automated access systems in industries including parking, retail, hospitality and security. Its platform uses vehicle and camera recognition technology and... made Metropolis North America’s largest parking operator in 2024" 😮💨
Eric Garcetti gets new job in the world of AI
The former LA mayor will advise Metropolis Technologies Inc. on public-private partnerships, government policy and urban infrastructure strategy.
dailynews.com
If 'remove graffiti from towers' is done by painting over the windows like they do at some vacant strip mall stores, then definitely #1. If not, People Mover by default.
News that the graffiti towers will be de-graffitied follows this mayoral announcement bragging that that the convention center expansion we're paying $100 million per year for just to service the debt "will bring more than 103,000 people to Los Angeles" over the next ten years 😬
Alissa Walker@awalkerinla.bsky.social · 10mo agoLast week, convention center expert Heywood Sanders wrote this about LA's expansion plan: "the likelihood of any significant increase in the city’s convention business is effectively nil." So I called him up to talk me through his analysis — and what he told me makes LA's plan seem *even worse*