Jessica Koslow

One late afternoon in mid-May, guests at The Anthem Hotel in Inglewood sat face-to-face with celebrity pop culture astrologer Kyle Thomas for complimentary astrology readings. It was part of the hotel’s ongoing #GRWM (Get Ready With Me) pre-concert activation; tonight was Lorde’s show next door at Kia Forum. 

“One of the best things about The Anthem’s location is that guests are right in the middle of one of the most exciting entertainment districts in the country,” said The Anthem’s General Manager Ruben Flores. “We’re just steps from SoFi Stadium, Intuit Dome, Kia Forum and YouTube Theater, so guests can easily walk to major concerts, games and events. They can spend the night at a sold-out show or big game and then be back at the hotel, relaxing by the pool or rooftop just minutes later, which is not something you typically experience in LA.”

The Anthem is also about 10 minutes from LAX, making it ideal for visitors attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 2027 Super Bowl LXI and LA28 Olympic Games. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Sometime around 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, a giant windstorm hit Manzanar National Historic Site, located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains just north of Lone Pine. To Dan Kwong, the winds felt like they were blowing 80 miles an hour. The dust was gusting sideways, and he could not see 10 feet in front of his face.

When the dirt settled, Kwong was able to see that much of his and his fellow volunteers’ hard work was smashed to the ground. In 2023, the staff of Manzanar National Historic Site announced it would rebuild its WWII baseball field, which was used when more than 11,000 Japanese Americans were forcibly incarcerated between 1942 and 1945. The newly finished announcer’s booth was still standing, but the storm had destroyed most of the fencing on the first base side.

“It was just heartbreaking,” Kwong said. “To watch it slowly give way and just, bam, smash down. It’s the third time we’ve had damage from wind, but this was just absolute obliteration. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Growing up in Encino, Nancy Silverton remembers shopping at small businesses with her parents. Unlike the Encino of today, populated by mini-malls, it was a town of tiny shops and markets, like the family-owned Jurgensen’s Grocery Company, Owl Rexall pharmacy and Gibson Girl boutique.

Silverton’s maternal grandfather was a doctor in Yonkers, New York, who practiced out of an office above their home. Her paternal grandfather was a jeweler in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, whose shop was the community gathering place. Her parents were “small-town people.” 

Although she wanted to, Silverton never went into a department store or a fast-food chain restaurant—until much later in life. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

It is where the Beastie Boys created some of their most iconic work — “Check Your Head,” “Ill Communication” and “Hello Nasty” — and where they filmed the “Pass the Mic” music video. It was a 1,600-plus square foot studio, label headquarters, clubhouse, skate spot, basketball court: a creative anything-goes space that, post-Beasties, has been home to Han Cholo Jewelry, X-Large Clothing and Mad Decent Recordings. Recently, Courtney Barnett filmed her video in the back for “One Thing at a Time.”

The place is G-Son Studios in Atwater Village, an old ballroom that is known today as one of the most mythic creative hideouts in LA. The legend goes that around 1990, when Atwater Village had a more small town USA vibe, the Beastie Boys arrived from New York City with record label money in their pockets. They decided to set up their own recording studio on Atwater’s main strip.

On the roof of the building, an old sign that used to read Gilson Plumbing and Heating now only listed “G son.” The studio’s name was decided thus for the place where the trio would launch Grand Royal, the label and magazine, and catapult themselves to global superstardom. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.