APRIL 3RD, 2024

WEDNESDAY

WEDNESDAY’S VIBES

👋HAPPY WEDNESDAY,
GOOD LOOKIN’

• 🔡 TABLE OF CONTENTS: CuratedLA is back after a Easter + Cesar Chavez holiday weekend! Today you will notice a couple of tweaks in that of a new font and a Table of Contents feature (above). The TOC only works when you click, ‘Read Online.’ As CuratedLA currently publishes on a MWF schedule, our newsletters are a bit more in-depth to also cover LA happenings for those days that we do not publish. That said, you can now quickly jump to a section that interests you. And as always, our HOV Lane saves you time if you’re in a hurry and want to get the essentials of LA happenings. Ok, cool - on to some good vibes for today!

🚀 TRENDING 

 ⚡️THE HOV LANE

EATS

 😋 HEADLINES

• 🌎️ THE BEST GLOBALLY: Food & Wine magazine has unveiled its highly anticipated 2024 Global Tastemakers awards, celebrating the world's best food and drink experiences. In a nod to Los Angeles' thriving culinary landscape, our city secured a spot among the Top Ten Best U.S. Cities for Food and Drinks, ranking fifth on the prestigious list. Highlighting LA's culinary prowess, two local restaurants earned top honors in the Best U.S. Restaurants category: Anajak Thai, a family-owned Thai eatery, claimed the number one spot, while Damian, a modern Mexican restaurant, came in at number six. Beyond the City of Angels, the 2024 Global Tastemakers awards showcased a diverse array of honorees, from a boundary-pushing pizzeria in Caserta, Italy, to a vibrant Mexican-American cocktail bar pulsating with rhythm in New York City.

• 🌯TOMORROW IS NATIONAL BURRITO DAY: And our friends at Chipotle are celebrating with a game called Burrito Vault. This new interactive game gives fans a chance to unlock one million dollars in free burritos today, ahead of tomorrow’s National Burrito Day. The first 50,000 fans to crack into the vault will win BOGO free entrée codes that will be redeemable tomorrow, on National Burrito Day. Additionally, all players who correctly guess the Chipotle order and unlock the Burrito Vault will be automatically entered into a sweepstakes where fifty-three winners will be randomly selected to receive free burritos for a year. If you’re down to showcase your skills and try to unlock the Burrito Vault, then head on over to unlockburritoday.com.

• 😋 MASTERS OF TASTE: The Masters of Taste 2024 takes place this Sunday at the Pasadena Rose Bowl. This event is an annual charity food and beverage festival that brings together top restaurants, wineries, breweries, and cocktail bars to raise funds for Union Station Homeless Services. The festival will feature a VIP Power Hour from 3:00pm - 4:00pm and general admission from 4:00pm to 7:00pm. 3-4 Over the past six years, Masters of Taste has raised close to three million dollars to help Union Station Homeless Services provide housing and support services to those in need within our community. This year's festival is expected to attract over three-thousand food and drink enthusiasts to celebrate and support this important cause. Tickets are on-sale now for this great cause.

 🚀 OPENINGS

• 🍔 SAWTELLE: The Tuk Tuk team is bringing a delicious new fusion concept to the Sawtelle neighborhood with the opening of Ban Ban Burger next Friday, April 12th. Born in Bangkok and raised in LA, sisters and co-owners Chef Amanda Maneesilasan and Katy Noochla-or are blending classic American smashburgers with the bold flavors of their family's Thai recipes. The menu features creative mashups like the Grapow Smash, which tops free-range beef cooked with garlic, holy basil, and Thai chili with a fried egg, house pickle, and wild garlic aioli. Diners can also indulge in Wagyu Laab Smash burgers seasoned with lime, rice powder, and bird's eye chili, or go for the So-Cali Classic with the signature Ban Ban sauce. To complete the Thai-American experience, the restaurant will offer Thai-inspired milkshakes in flavors like pandan, Thai tea, and coconut. | 💻️ View Menu Online | 📸 @banbanburger

• 🍕 LA BREA: Renowned Chef Joshua Skenes, known for his acclaimed restaurants Saison and Angler in San Francisco, is opening a new restaurant called Leopardo in late April. Leopardo will be located in the former La Brea Bakery building, just north of the popular restaurant République. The restaurant will feature wood-fired pizza, dishes cooked over a wood-burning grill, and other rustic Italian-inspired fare. Skenes first came to LA in 2019 to expand his seafood-focused Angler restaurant, which operated through the pandemic but has since closed. He has now moved on from his previous restaurant group, Saison Hospitality, to focus on Leopardo. While Skenes says he doesn't know the first thing about traditional Italian cooking, he plans to bring his California-influenced, ingredient-focused approach to the new restaurant. The menu will include dishes like elk tartare, an improved radicchio salad, peel-and-eat prawns, and a polenta waffle with barbecue corn cob butter. Skenes hopes Leopardo will be a more casual and fun dining experience compared to his previous high-end establishments, though he will still emphasize using top-quality, peak-season ingredients cooked over live fire.

EVENTS

 🔥TRENDING 

• 📥️ ADD YOUR EVENTS: To add your event, simply send a calendar invitation to [email protected]. Upon approval, your event will show up within our Big List of Events Calendar and/or our Trending Calendar. Regular content can be submitted using this form, or by using the Catfish text/voicemail: 747-200-5740.

📆 BIG LIST OF EVENTS

ACTIVITIES

• 🎤K-TOWN COMEDY TONIGHT: Join some of our local CuratedLA Curators tonight as K-town Comedy is back at Jaragua! This is LIVE stand-up comedy and music, featuring: Jeremiah Watkins, Chrissa Sparkles, Chris Martin, Ocean Glapion, Walter Hong, and Luz Pazos. Hosted by Julia Li with music by Jay Lee Campbell and Thomas Shim. PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS! Food and drinks available. Tickets can be purchased here. 💌 | 📸 @koreatowncomedy

• 🎷 CITY YEAR LOS ANGELES: City Year Los Angeles, an education-focused nonprofit organization, is bringing back its annual Spring Break event for the thirteenth year. This year, the organization has announced that acclaimed singer-songwriter John Legend will headline the event. The Spring Break event will take place on May 4th at the Gallagher Garden in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. In addition to Legend's performance, the event will honor City Year Los Angeles co-founders Andrew Hauptman and Ellen Bronfman Hauptman with the Service to a Cause Greater Than Self Award. City Year Los Angeles works to provide educational equity and resources to students across Los Angeles public schools, including mentors and other support. The annual Spring Break fundraiser event raises over two million dollars each year to support the organization's mission.

• 🍺 MONTROSE’S BREWFEST: The 9th Annual Montrose Craft Beer Fest takes place this Sunday, April 7th. The festival, presented by the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, is a chance to taste test an array of local brews, each with its own unique character and personality. From bold and hoppy IPAs to smooth and malty lagers, patrons will have the opportunity to explore the essential characteristics that define and differentiate these handcrafted masterpieces. To enhance the tasting experience, local Montrose restaurants will be on-site, offering delectable food samples to pair with craft beer selections.

COMMUNITY

• 🚨 OCEAN BACTERIA: Southern California officials are urging the public to steer clear of Los Angeles County beaches due to elevated bacteria levels. Recent rainfall has flushed excessive bacteria and debris from city streets and mountain areas into the ocean, especially near storm drains, creeks, and rivers. This contaminated runoff could make beachgoers, especially children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems, susceptible to illness if they enter the water. The L.A. County Department of Public Health regularly tests ocean water quality, and current advisories will remain in effect until at least this tonight. Depending on further rainfall, these warnings may be extended.

• ⛈️ MORE STORMS EXPECTED: We are all bracing for another round of wet weather this week, with a storm system expected to bring rain and mountain snow starting on Thursday evening and continuing through Friday. According to KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo, the upcoming storm is not expected to be as strong as the one that brought 1-3 inches of rain to the region over the Easter weekend, but it will still bring about 0.5-1 inch of rain to most areas. The storm will also bring the potential for thunderstorm activity on Friday and very low snow levels that could impact travel through the Grapevine on the 5 Freeway.

• 🌠 DID YOU SEE THAT? A bright fireball-like object seen in the sky over Los Angeles early yesterday morning was identified as the re-entry of the Chinese Shenzhou 15 orbital module. The sightings were reported around 1:30am, with many people in our area, Sacramento and San Diego reporting the event to the American Meteor Society. Initially, there was speculation that the object could have been related to a SpaceX rocket launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base the previous evening. However, experts determined that the burning debris could not have been from the Falcon 9 rocket's upper stage, as that hardware is disposable and would have re-entered much earlier. Instead, the fireballs were confirmed to be the Shenzhou 15 orbital module, which had launched in November 2022 carrying three Chinese astronauts to the Tiangong space station. The module was expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere yesterday morning, matching the timing and location of the sightings.

• 🚧 134 (VENTURA) FREEWAY: Caltrans has announced a closure of lanes and ramps on the eastbound 134 Freeway in Glendale this upcoming weekend. The closures will take place from Friday at 11:00pm to 5:00am on Monday. During this timeframe, three lanes will be closed between Glendale Avenue and Verdugo Road, including the Glendale Avenue ramps, though at least two lanes and the carpool lane will remain open. The closure is to allow crews to install a new drainage system as part of a $50.5 million repaving project. ℹ️ 

• 🚇️ TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: City Council’s Transportation Committee is set to convene today at 1:30pm to discuss traffic enforcement, including speed camera pilot programs, speed bumps, and more. The committee will meet at L.A. City Hall in Room 401 at 200 N. Spring Street. A breakdown of today’s agenda can be viewed here. | h/t Streetsblog LA.

• 🎢 UNIVERSAL STUDIOS: Universal Studios Hollywood is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its iconic Studio Tour from April 26th through August 11th. As part of the celebration, the theme park will offer several nostalgic experiences for visitors:

  • Guests will be able to take a time-traveling tour aboard retro red-and-white candy-striped Glamor Trams to see various attractions and landmarks.

  • A ten-foot-tall scale replica of the original 45-foot-tall Hollywood Sign will be installed next to the tram station, where it will remain for several years.

  • The 1989 Earthquake attraction has undergone an extensive renovation to add updated technology and thematic aesthetics.

  • The 1976 Runaway Train attraction will return to the Studio Tour, complete with warning bells and siren alarms.

  • Iconic movie props will be on display, including a growling Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur, a massive King Kong photo op backdrop, and the theme park's original hanging Jaws shark.

  • A Doc Brown character from the Back to the Future franchise will be featured, interacting with the DeLorean time machine car.

  • An all-new dedicated 60th anniversary merchandise collection will be available for guests to take home a piece of the celebration.

• 😜 LOCAL APRIL FOOLS PRANKS: Here are some local April Fools’ pranks that I read across my screen. And one of them almost made today’s CuratedLA as an actual headline, but Santa Monica’s City Council wouldn’t approve the release.

  • ‘Saucey (LA-based), the country’s fastest growing alcohol delivery app, is thrilled to announce its latest innovation, ’The Saucey Beer Goggles’, exclusively for Apple Vision Pro.’

  • ‘A proposed ’Transplant Tax’ Law will charge people who plan to relocate to Los Angeles County.’

  • ’Santa Monica City Council to be adapted into television sitcom.’

  • ‘As Shohei Ohtani waits for his right arm to heal, he may soon use his left arm to pitch for the Dodgers in key situation…’

  • Jared Leto ‘hosts’ Burbank’s Wheel of Fortune for the show’s opening segment. Pat Sajak returned after the break as if nothing happened, with Leto’s appearance never addressed.

DEVELOPMENT

• 🎬️ HOLLYWOOD: The development of a mixed-use apartment complex in Hollywood has been fully framed. The building, Modera Argyle, is seven stories and features 276 studio, one, and two bedroom apartments. Thirteen of these apartments will be set aside for individuals that fall within the very-low income bracket for affordable housing. The complex also includes an above a-ground grocery store with 412 parking spaces. Exteriors of the building feature stucco with cantilevered balconies and mesh screens with planned amenities to include a courtyard, a swimming pool, and an upper-floor terrace deck. Modera Argyle is slated to be completed later this year and is designed by architects AC Martin.

• 🌴 NORTH HOLLYWOOD: The $2.1 million freeway beautification project in North Hollywood aims to improve the appearance and safety of the 170 and 101 freeways in the area. The project is part of the State’s $1.2 billion Clean California initiative and will include landscaping, removing graffiti, fixing fences, and adding artwork to the pedestrian bridge near Valley Plaza Park.

• 🏡 FAIRFAX: A new four-story mixed-use development is planned for North Fuller Avenue in the Fairfax District. The project will include twenty-five residential units with a mix of one and two-bedroom options. The planned development will replace two existing single-story commercial buildings on the site. Construction is expected to begin in the coming months, with completion targeted for 2025.

• 🎡 SANTA MONICA: A contemporary low-rise apartment complex is taking shape at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Centinela Avenue in Mid-City Santa Monica. This four-story building will soon be home to fifty-three studio, one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, perched atop 5,800 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Residents will enjoy a rooftop amenity deck with sweeping views of the bustling intersection below, while the building's sleek, modern design by Pyatok Architects promises to be a striking addition to the neighborhood's evolving skyline.

• 🧑‍🍳 PASADENA: The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) has opened educational offerings to the public at their Pasadena location. The campus is home to a 38,000 sq. ft. facility that features state-of-the-art teaching kitchens and classrooms, and is located in the historic Playhouse District of Pasadena. ICE's Pasadena campus offers programs in Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry, and Restaurant & Food Services Management, taught by an experienced faculty. The school's mission is to inspire students to reach their full potential in a passionate, disciplined environment that fosters excellence, critical thinking, and creativity.

• 💃 MARILYN MONROE’S STATUS: Marilyn Monroe's last home in Brentwood is one step closer to being designated a historic cultural monument after the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously to recommend the property for landmark status. The Spanish Colonial-style home, which Monroe purchased in 1962 shortly before her death, has been the subject of a heated debate between its current owners and preservationists who want to protect the property. The owners have argued that the home has been significantly renovated over the years and is not worthy of landmark designation, while historians and fans have passionately advocated for preserving the only home Monroe ever owned. The decision now moves to the Los Angeles City Council's Planning and Land Use Management Committee, which will consider the landmark nomination before a final vote by the full council. If approved, the designation would delay any potential demolition of the home for 180 days while alternative preservation options are explored.

• 🚇️ D-LINE TUNNELING COMPLETE: The tunneling work for Metro's D Line (formerly the Purple Line) extension project is now complete, marking a major milestone for the $9.5 billion expansion. The tunneling, which involved boring nearly nine miles of new subway tunnels just recently finished. This clears the way for the next phase of construction on the three-section extension project. Once finished, the D Line extension will add seven new stations, connecting Koreatown to West Los Angeles near Westwood. The first section from Wilshire/Western to Wilshire/La Cienega is expected to open in 2025, followed by the second section to Century City in 2026, and the final leg to the Westwood/VA Hospital station in 2027.

BUSINESS

• 🌮 TACO BELL X WILDFANG: Taco Bell and the lifestyle brand Wildfang have teamed up to release a limited-edition coverall design inspired by the fast-food chain. The collaboration features LA singer-songwriter Hayley Kiyoko as the face of the campaign, who poses in the gray utilitarian jumpsuit with purple hardware. The coverall, available in sizes XS to 3X as well as Tall sizes S to XXL, are priced at $178 and can be purchased exclusively on Wildfang's website. The design incorporates twenty thoughtfully placed pockets inspired by the shapes of Taco Bell menu items, blending style and functionality.

• 💊 PRICE TEAMS UP WITH MARK CUBAN: LA’s Price.com, a price comparison platform, has announced a collaboration with the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. The goal of the partnership is to make prescription drugs more affordable for consumers. The collaboration will integrate the Cost Plus Drugs' transparent pricing model into Price.com's comparison tools. This will allow users to easily compare prices and access more affordable medication options. ‘Teaming up with Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company is a pivotal step towards achieving our shared goal of improving healthcare affordability and accessibility,’ said RJ Jain, founder and CEO of Price.com. The partnership aims to empower individuals to make more informed choices about their healthcare and prescription drug costs.

• 🏥 UCLA ACQUISITION: UCLA Health has acquired the 260-bed West Hills Hospital and Medical Center from HCA Healthcare. This acquisition will help address UCLA Health's inpatient capacity constraints allowing UCLA to provide world-class care to more patients across the greater Los Angeles region. The transaction, finalized on Friday has resulted in the hospital being renamed UCLA West Valley Medical Center. UCLA Health has retained the vast majority of the previous staff, ensuring continuity of high-quality care for patients during the ownership transition. UCLA Health plans to develop a comprehensive, long-term plan to upgrade the UCLA West Valley Medical Center property and optimize use of the additional capacity.

ENTERTAINMENT

 🎬️ HEADLINES

• 📺️ A SIMPLE FLAVOR 2: Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are officially reuniting to star in the sequel to the 2018 film A Simple Favor, titled A Simple Favor 2. The sequel will be directed by Paul Feig and is a co-production between Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate. The original film was a critical and commercial success, earning over $97 million at the worldwide box office and achieving Certified Fresh status on Rotten Tomatoes. The sequel will see the return of the main cast, including Kendrick, Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack.

•  ❤️ IHEARTRADIO MUSIC AWARDS: The 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards were celebrated Monday at Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Taylor Swift was the big winner of the night, taking home the coveted Artist of the Year award as well as several other trophies. Other major winners included SZA, who won Song of the Year for Kill Bill, and Jelly Roll, who was named Pop and Country New Artist of the Year.The awards show also featured special honors, with Beyoncé receiving the Innovator Award and Cher being named an Icon. Additionally, the legendary rock band Green Day and R&B group TLC were both presented with the Landmark Award in recognition of their influential careers.

• 📈 GODZILLA X KONG: Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire has delivered a monstrous opening weekend at the box office, earning an estimated $80 million domestically, $194 million globally. This makes it the second-highest opening weekend for a film in the Monsterverse franchise, behind only the 2014 Godzilla movie which opened to $93.2 million. The opening puts Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire on track to potentially surpass the $474 million worldwide gross of the previous installment, 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong.

• 🍾 ROAD HOUSE’S BIG DEBUT: The 2024 remake of the classic 1989 film Road House has become a massive hit on Amazon Prime Video, shattering the streaming service's records for the biggest global launch of an original movie. According to a press release from Amazon MGM Studios, the new Road House starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Conor McGregor attracted a staggering fifty million viewers worldwide in its first two weekends on Prime Video. This makes it the biggest debut ever for an Amazon Original movie, surpassing previous records.

• 💼 LAW SCHOOL THRILLER: Netflix has preemptively acquired a pitch for an untitled law school thriller from Andrew Sodroski, the writer of the acclaimed true crime anthology series Manhunt. The project, described as a contemporary spin on The Firm meets The Wolf of Wall Street, will be produced by Ben Pugh and Peter Dealbert from the production company 42. Sodroski recently wrote the thriller film Holland, Michigan for Amazon MGM Studios, and his previous work on Manhunt: Unabomber and Manhunt: Deadly Games has proven his ability to craft gripping, suspenseful stories that captivate audiences, with the latter season becoming one of the most-watched shows on Netflix.

• 💰️ENDEAVOR ACQUIRED: Endeavor, the Beverly Hills sports and entertainment company that owns talent agencies WME and IMG, as well as other businesses like the PBR bull riding organization and hospitality firm On Location, has agreed to be acquired by its majority shareholder, the private equity firm Silver Lake, in a deal valuing the company at thirteen billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Silver Lake will acquire all outstanding Endeavor shares for $27.50 per share, representing a 55% premium to the stock's unaffected price. The transaction marks the end of Endeavor's three-year run as a publicly traded company, with the company's stock set to be delisted. Silver Lake, which first invested in Endeavor in 2012, says the combined total enterprise value of Endeavor and its publicly traded venture TKO Group is $25 billion. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel stated that the deal will maximize value for all of Endeavor's public stockholders and allow the company to continue to unlock and invest in the growth opportunities ahead as a private company.

SPORTS

• 💰️ WILL SMITH: The Dodgers have agreed to a ten-year, $140 million contract extension with catcher Will Smith. This deal raises the Dodgers' total spending on five key players since December to nearly $1.4 billion. Smith's new contract supersedes the $8.85 million, one-year agreement he had previously reached with the team in January. The 28-year-old was a first-time All-Star in 2023, hitting .261 with nineteen home runs and 76 RBIs. Over his six seasons with the Dodgers, Smith has a .263 batting average with 91 home runs and 308 RBIs. The contract includes a $30 million signing bonus to be paid out over the next two years, as well as $50 million in deferred payments from 2034-2043. This deferred compensation raises the Dodgers' total deferred payroll liability to $915.5 million owed to five players, including Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Teoscar Hernández.

• 🐏 KAMREN CURL: The Los Angeles Rams have signed defensive back Kamren Curl to a two-year deal. Curl, 25, originally entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick by the Washington Commanders in 2020. Over his first four seasons, he has amassed 385 total tackles, fourteen passes defensed, three interceptions, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries while starting 53 of 60 games played.

CU FRIDAY, LA!