Hop in: We're taking a pop culture road trip on Route 66
A "Route 66" sign is painted on the asphalt near Amboy in the Mojave Desert in California on Feb. 27, 2019.(Eric Baradat / AFP via Getty Images) Route 66 is celebrating 100 years of being the country's most famous highway, an icon of American culture. As it passes through eight states — from Chicago to Santa Monica, Calif. — its charm is all about driving on the open road, through the plains and prairies, canyons and deserts. Past big cities, cow towns and ghost towns, stopping at roadside motels, retro diners and kitschy tourist traps. Like every good road trip, Route 66 has a soundtrack — starting with the famous anthem sung by Nat King Cole (and later, his daughter Natalie). If you ever plan to motor West/ travel my way, take the highway that's the best/ Get your kicks on Route 66 … Bobby Troup, then an aspiring songwriter and jazz pianist, wrote that 1946 song during a road trip he took to California. Over the years, many others have recorded their own versions, including Bing Cr
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Phil Collins cries, Billy Idol shouts and rappers romp at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony
Inductee Phil Collins speaks onstage during the 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Peacock Theater on November 14, 2026 in Los Angeles.(Theo Wargo / Getty Images for RRHOF)Phil Collins gave a tearful acceptance speech and got an electrifying tribute from Cynthia Erivo, Oprah Winfrey inducted the late Luther Vandross, the crowd yelled along with Billy Idol, and Wu-Tang Clan crowded the stage for a rowdy celebration at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday night.Queen Latifah, Oasis, MC Lyte, Sade, Joy Division/New Order and Iron Maiden were also inducted at the ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles along with producer Rick Rubin, who got a long-bearded tribute from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.A night that beforehand felt like it might fall flat with the absences of key inductees was as lively and overloaded as the induction ceremony ever is.U2 was the night’s surprise opener, playing their new single “Silencio” while surrounded by dancers in
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We’ve got baby turtles! First sea turtle eggs laid on SoCal beaches have hatched
A number of rare sea turtle eggs laid on Southern California beaches in September have hatched.Eggs from the first confirmed sea turtle nests found on the U.S. West Coast have hatched. "We are excited to share that some of the olive ridley sea turtle eggs from Seal Beach successfully hatched after a 58-day incubation period," said the Aquarium of the Pacific in a social media post. The Long Beach-based aquarium has been keeping watch over 204 olive ridley sea turtle eggs, laid on Seal Beach and Huntington Beach in September. A second set of eggs found on Huntington Beach is still incubatingThe aquarium said the hatchlings were released early Saturday morning in a coastal area with little light and human disturbances.Baby turtles, the aquarium said, go through a “frenzy period” after hatching, where they swim nonstop for up to two daysThe eggs came from the first confirmed sea turtle nests found on the U.S. West Coast. Scientists say unusually warming water tied to El Niño likely drew t
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Tax the rich — sometimes. California voters sent mixed signals with ballot measures
A man's shirt and sticker are displayed at the Billionaire Tax Now booth at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. A new poll finds just 52% of voters back a wealth tax, leaving room for an expensive, uphill campaign. State Republicans overwhelmingly support the voter ID measure. (Jeff Chiu/ / AP Photo)California voters faced big questions about money in this election, and the results sent mixed signals about how the electorate feels about taxation.They want to tax the rich — but only sometimes. They want the money counters at the Franchise Tax Board to stay far away from personal assets, but are leaving the door open for future taxes or taxes on other people.On Election Day, voters:Rejected Proposition 40, an effort to levy a first-of-its-kind wealth tax on billionairesRejected Proposition 41, a taxation transparency measure Approved Proposition 42, a ban on wealth taxes and retroactive taxes Rejected Proposition
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600 strangers, 16 miles, just because — LA’s mellowest walking party hits Route 66 next Saturday
The 2025 edition of Great L.A. Walk down Wilshire Boulevard.If you happen to see 600 people snaking down 14.3 miles of Santa Monica Boulevard (and then some) on Saturday, Nov. 21 — their sole purpose is just to … walk.“For years people were asking us, ‘What are you doing?’” said Michael Schneider, founder of the Great Los Angeles Walk.These strolls are maximalist in nature, usually covering the entire length of a given thoroughfare. Sunset Boulevard. Melrose Avenue. Ventura Boulevard.The inaugural Great L.A. Walk in 2006 along Wilshire Boulevard.How the walk began The pre-Thanksgiving tradition started in 2006 with Wilshire Boulevard. Schneider, who had reached the milestone of living in L.A. for a decade, was inspired by a book about the street’s history to walk its entire 15.8 miles on foot. He asked others to join on his blog Franklin Avenue.About two dozen people showed up. That day, they popped into storefronts, stopped by restaurants, sneaked into the Park Plaza Hotel near MacArt
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How I tamed my demons and got on stage at The Moth
LAist Senior Editor Suzanne Levy pushing herself to feel the fear and do it anyway.A couple of decades ago, a friend in New York told me about something happening that was kinda underground and just getting traction. It was called “The Moth.” People took turns telling a true, personal story, with no notes, named after the Southern tradition of sitting on front porches and sharing spellbinding tales — with moths flying mesmerized around the porchlight.It sounded amazing. And terrifying. I filed it under the same list as bungee jumping — no doubt exhilarating but something I’d never do — and got on with my life. Over the years, as it grew bigger and bigger, I went to several Moth events in different cities, and was always so impressed with the storytellers — and equally adamant I’d never do it.Cut to this September, when a message went out to all the staff at LAist. We’re a media sponsor of The Moth, and an event, a open mike StorySLAM, was coming up in Silver Lake. There were a few tick
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FAA blames Friday's ground stop on 'equipment issue' during telecoms network upgrade
A person looks at a departures board showing delays and cancellations at LaGuardia airport on November 13, 2026 in the Queens borough of New York City.(Adam Gray / Getty Images North America) Updated November 14, 2026 at 13:52 PM ET WASHINGTON— Friday's nationwide ground stop started when a contractor updated old Federal Aviation Administration telecommunication lines, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Saturday. Tens of thousands of passengers across the U.S. are still stranded Saturday after the rare ground stop. Bryan Bedford, the FAA administrator who joined Duffy at Saturday's media briefing, said schedule problems should be resolved by Sunday evening. Nearly 25,000 flights were delayed, and over 9,000 were cancelled on Friday, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking site. The disruption seeped into Saturday morning with more than 4,000 cancellations recorded, which is 18% of flights departing the U.S., according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company. L3Harr
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Santa Maria-style BBQ: How the Central Coast tradition began
Nicholas Priedite of Priedite Barbecue in Los Alamos tends chicken over the fire at the Santa Maria BBQ & Music Fest.(Wylie Withers / Courtesy Santa Maria BBQ & Music Fest)Heading north up the coast from L.A. soon? Plan to stop in wine country’s Santa Maria Valley to try something different: the region’s own BBQ style.Order a plate at restaurants like Shaw’s Famous Steakhouse in Santa Maria, or the Hitching Post in Casmalia, and it will arrive with red-oak grilled top sirloin or tri-tip, pinquito beans (a miniature cousin of the pink bean, grown only in the Santa Maria Valley), macaroni and cheese, a green salad, toasted French bread and salsa. And there's no barbecue sauce. It’s dry rub all the way.It’s so specific to the region that “Santa Maria Barbecue” has been trademarked by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce to stop nearby imitators.The defining feature is the pit that's used. The grate lifts and lowers on a crank or pulley, so the cook controls heat by changing the dist
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Control of LA’s federal homeless money is about to change. Here’s what happens next
A homeless encampment along the 101 Northbound offramp is seen near City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, August 21, 2026. (Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Los Angeles Times)The nonprofits that run the Los Angeles region's federally funded homeless shelters, outreach teams and housing services will soon be overseen by a different government agency, under a deal a federal judge says he plans to approve next week.If approved, the shift will mark the biggest change in the control of federal homeless dollars in L.A. in decades.The proposed settlement would shift federal grants and duties from the troubled L.A. Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) to the county government in stages, starting next month. LAHSA’s management of federal dollars for homeless services would end in June. The deal between LAHSA and the Trump administration keeps the region's request for roughly $240 million in new annual federal funding on track and adds tighter checks on how that money i
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Best things to do in LA and SoCal: Nov. 11-17
'The Importance of Being Earnest' is at the Wallis.(Courtesy The Wallis)A big thank you to all the service members who’ve served our country this Veterans Day. There’s lots going on to honor them, including a ceremony on the beach in Santa Monica, a celebration at the VA and more.Elsewhere on LAist, you can learn about one couple who chose the LAUSD coffee cake for their wedding, come hang out with us at CicLAvia in Pasadena and grab tickets for FilmWeek’s screening of Sideways.MusicLicorice Pizza has your music picks for the week ahead — it is Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction time, after all — including:Wednesday Bonobo begin their two-night run at the WilternAustralian EDM star Ninajirachi begins her four-night run at the Fonda Theatre Thursday The Smashing Pumpkins performing ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ in full at the ForumSparta at Sid The CatFriday Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds at the WilternE-40 with Too $hort, Mack 10 & more at the YouTube TheaterBand of Horse
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