The saga of a Los Angeles Army veteran who legally immigrated to the United States, was wounded in combat and self-deported to South Korea earlier this year, became a flashpoint during a testy congressional hearing about the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was grilled Thursday on Capitol Hill about military veterans deported during the immigration crackdown launched earlier this year, including in Los Angeles.
“Sir, we have not deported U.S. citizens or military veterans,” Noem responded when questioned by Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.).
Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) speaks while joined on a video call by a man who he said was a U.S. military veteran who self-deported to South Korea, during a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security on Thursday.
(Mark Schiefelbein / Associated Press)
An aide then held up a tablet showing a Zoom connection with Purple Heart recipient Sae Joon Park in South Korea. The congressman argued that Park had “sacrificed more for this country than most people ever have” and asked Noem if she would investigate Park’s case given her discretion as a cabinet member. Noem pledged to “absolutely look at his case.”
Park, reached in Seoul on Thursday night, said he was skeptical that Noem would follow through on her promise, but said that he had “goosebumps” watching the congressional hearing.
“It was amazing. And then I’m getting tons of phone calls from all my friends back home and everywhere else. I’m so very grateful for everything that happened today,” Park, 56, said, noting that friends told him that a clip of his story appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” show Thursday night.
The late-night host featured footage of Park’s moment in the congressional hearing in his opening monologue.
“Is anyone OK with this? Seriously, all kidding aside, we deported a veteran with a Purple Heart?” Kimmel said, adding that Republicans “claim to care so much about veterans, but they don’t at all.”
Park legally immigrated to the United States when he was 7, grew up in Koreatown and the San Fernando Valley, and joined the Army after graduating from Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks in 1988.
Photo of Sae Joon Park, an Army veteran with a Purple Heart, who self-deported to South Korea under threat of deportation.
(Courtesy of Sae Joon Park)
The green card holder was deployed to Panama in 1989 as the U.S. tried to depose the nation’s de facto leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. Park was shot twice and honorably discharged. Suffering PTSD, he self-medicated with illicit drugs, went to prison after jumping bail on drug possession charges, became sober and raised two children in Hawaii.
Earlier this year, when Park checked in for his annual meeting with federal officials to verify his sobriety and employment, he was given the option of being immediately detained and deported, or wearing an ankle monitor for three weeks as he got his affairs in order before leaving the country for a decade.
At the time, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said Park had an “extensive criminal history” and had been given a final removal order, with the option to self-deport.
Park chose to leave the country voluntarily. He initially struggled to acclimate in a nation he hasn’t lived in since he was a child, but said Thursday night that his mental state — and his Korean language skills — have improved.
“It hasn’t been easy. Of course, I miss home like crazy,” he said. “I’m doing the best I can. I’m usually a very positive person, so I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I’m just trying to hang in there until hopefully I make it back home.”
Among Park’s top concerns when he left the United States in June was that his mother, who is 86 and struggling with dementia, would pass away while he couldn’t return to the county. But her lack of awareness about his situation has been somewhat of a strange blessing, Park said.
“She really doesn’t know I’m even here. So every time I talk to her, she’s like, ‘Oh, where are you,’ and I tell her, and she’s like, ‘Oh, when are you coming home? Oh, why are you there?’” Park said. “In a weird way, it’s kind of good because she doesn’t have to worry about me all the time. But at the same time, I would love to be next to her while she’s going through this.”
A Montana town’s “pedophile bonfire” sounds like a headline-making event, but it isn’t in the state’s local news. There is a good reason for that: It isn’t real.
After the House Oversight Committee’s Nov. 12 release of about 20,000 pages of documents involving convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, social media users speculated about the files’ mentions of President Donald Trump. It was in that context that social media users spread news of disappointed former Trump supporters staging a fiery small-town demonstration..
“BREAKING: A Montana town that voted 89% for Donald Trump a year ago is holding a ‘Pedophile Bonfire’ event in their public park tonight for anyone who wants to come burn their Trump flags and MAGA hats,” read a Nov. 15 X post by left-leaning commentator Brian Krassenstein. It attracted 918.2K views as of Nov. 21.
But this faux memorabilia-burning demonstration news originated Nov. 13 from a satirical X account and website called The Halfway Post, which describes itself as posting “halfway true comedy and satire.”
There are no credible news reports from Montana, which supported Trump in 2024, about such a bonfire.
Although we found some social media videos and news stories showing people burningMAGA hats in response to the Trump administration’s handling of the Epstein files in recent months and weeks, we did not find news of a bonfire.
We rate the claim that a Montana town held a “pedophile bonfire” in a public park in November to burn Trump merchandise Pants on Fire!
Jillaroos fullback Abbi Church was electric in her test debut, running 197m, while halfback Jesse Southwell did a great job steering the team around the field. For the Kiwi Ferns, co-captain Georgia Hale was excellent again, making a game-high 50 tackles, along with 100 run metres.
The match was always set to be a physical battle, after the Kiwi Ferns laid down a strong haka, where they advanced to be within metres of the Australian players.
The Jillaroos lost Keeley Davis early in the match with an arm injury in the opening set and both sides were guilty of errors in the opening exchanges, but once the match found its rhythm, it was a enthralling battle.
It took the Kiwi Ferns nearly 25 minutes for their first real attacking opportunity where they managed to force a repeat set but couldn’t capitalise, and eventually the Jillaroos broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Jessica Sergis broke three tackles to dive over in the corner and give her side a deserved 6-0 lead at the break – the third straight game New Zealand have failed to score in the first half.
The Ferns made a strong start to the second half, forcing a repeat set, but it was the Jillaroos who extended their lead after Apii Nicholls spilt the ball and Church swooped on it to claim her first test try.
New Zealand eventually got the breakthrough they needed when Annessa Biddle made a break deep inside their half and outraced Australian captain Ali Brigginshaw to score, but Raecene McGregor couldn’t convert.
The try set up a thrilling finish, and New Zealand had one last throw of the dice but couldn’t make it count, meaning Australia will be firm favourites in the Pacific Cup final next Sunday.
Ben Francisis an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
My first reaction, when I heard about the proposed $2.3-million fence around MacArthur Park, was skepticism.
Yeah, the park and the immediate neighborhood have long dealt with a nasty web of urban nightmares, including homelessness, crime and a rather astonishing open-air drug scene, all of which I spent a few months looking into not long ago.
But what would a fence accomplish?
Well, after looking into it, maybe it’s not the worst idea.
Skepticism, I should note, is generally a fallback position for me. It’s something of an occupational duty, and how can you not be cynical about promises and plans in Los Angeles, where each time you open the newspaper, you have to scratch your head?
I’m still having trouble understanding how county supervisors approved another $828 million in child sexual abuse payments, on top of an earlier settlement this year of $4 billion, even after Times reporter Rebecca Ellis found nine cases in which people said they were told to fabricate abuse allegations.
The same supes, while wrestling with a budget crisis, agreed to pay $2 million to appease the county’s chief executive officer because she felt wronged by a ballot measure proposing that the job be an elected rather than appointed post. Scratching your head doesn’t help in this case; you’re tempted instead to bang it into a wall.
Drone view of MacArthur Park looking toward downtown Los Angeles.
(Ted Soqui/For The Times)
Or maybe a $2.3-million fence.
The city of L.A. is primarily responsible for taking on the problems of MacArthur Park, although the county has a role too in the areas of housing, public health and addiction services. I made two visits to the area in the last week, and while there are signs of progress and slightly less of a sense of chaos — the children’s playground hit last year by an arsonist has been fully rebuilt — there’s a long way to go.
In a story about the fence by my colleague Nathan Solis, one service provider said it would further criminalize homelessness and another said the money “could be better used by funding … services to the people in the park, rather than just moving them out.”
The vast majority of people who spoke at the Oct. 16 meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission, which voted unanimously to move forward with the fence, were adamantly opposed despite claims that enclosing the space would be a step toward upgrading and making the park more welcoming.
“Nothing is more unwelcoming than a fence around a public space,” one critic said.
“A fence can not solve homelessness,” another said.
The LAPD underwater dive unit investigates activity in MacArthur Park Lake.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
Others argued that locking up the park, which is surrounded by a predominantly immigrant community, recalls the ridiculous stunt that played out in June, when President Trump’s uniformed posse showed up in armored vehicles and on horseback in what looked like an all-out invasion of Westlake.
But another speaker, Raul Claros — who is running against Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez in the 1st District — said he’d spoken to residents and merchants who support the fence, as long as it’s part of a greater effort to address the community’s needs.
Claros said he has three questions: “What’s the plan? What’s the timeline? Who’s in charge?”
Hernandez, by the way, is not opposed to the fence. A staffer told me there’s a fence around nearby Lafayette Park. Other fenced parks in Los Angeles include Robert Burns Park, adjacent to Hancock Park, and the L.A. State Historic Park on the edge of Chinatown, which is locked at sunset.
As for the long-range plan, the Hernandez staffer said the councilwoman has secured and is investing millions of dollars in what she calls a care-first approach that aims to address drug addiction and homelessness in and around the park.
Eduardo Aguirre, who lives a couple of blocks from the park and serves on the West Pico Neighborhood Council, told me he’s OK with the fence but worried about the possible consequences. If the people who use the park at night or sleep there are forced out, he said, where will they go?
“To the streets? To the alleys? You know what’s going to happen. It’s a game,” Aguirre said.
Last fall I walked with Aguirre and his wife as they led their daughter to her elementary school. They often have to step around homeless people and past areas where dealing and drug use, along with violence, are anything but infrequent.
Families and others should be able to feel safe in the park and the neighborhood, said Norm Langer, owner of the iconic Langer’s deli on the edge of the park.
A visitor takes in the view at MacArthur Park.
(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)
“I completely understand why you’re skeptical,” Langer told me, but he said he’s seen improvements in the last year, particularly after fences were installed along Alvarado Street and vendors were shut down. Police say some of the vendors were involved in the drug trade and the resale of stolen merchandise.
“The point isn’t to limit access,” Langer said. “The fence is intended to improve safety and quality of life for the people who live, work, and spend time here. It gives park staff a fighting chance to maintain and restore the place, especially at night, when they can finally clean and repair without the constant chaos that made upkeep nearly impossible before.”
LAPD Capt. Ben Fernandes of the Rampart division told me police are “trying to make it not OK” to buy and use drugs along the Alvarado corridor. Drug users often gather in the northeast corner of the park, Fernandes said, and he thinks putting up a fence and keeping the park off limits at night will help “deflect” some of “the open-air usage.”
The park has a nice soccer field and a lovely bandstand, among other popular attractions, but many parents told me they’re reluctant to visit with their children because of safety concerns. If a fence helps bring back families, many of whom live in apartments and have no yards, that’s a good thing.
But as the city goes to work on design issues, questions about enforcement, opening and closing times and other details, it needs to keep in mind that all of that is the easy part.
It took an unforgivably long time for L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and other elected officials to acknowledge a social, economic and humanitarian crisis in a place that’s home to thousands of low-income working people.
Melanie Winter, who dedicated much of her life to reimagining the Los Angeles River as a natural asset, has died. She was 67.
Winter worked persistently for nearly three decades to spread her alternative vision for the river and its watershed, calling for “unbuilding” where feasible, removing concrete and reactivating stretches of natural floodplains where the river could spread out.
Leading her nonprofit group the River Project, she championed efforts to embrace nature along the river, saying that allowing space for a meandering waterway lined with riparian forests would help recharge groundwater, reduce flood risks and allow a green oasis to flourish in the heart of Los Angeles.
She developed ambitious plans for rewilding parts of the river channel and nearby areas, and helped spearhead new riverfront parks as well as neighborhood “urban acupuncture” projects that replaced asphalt with permeable paving, allowing rainwater to percolate underground instead of running in concrete channels to the ocean.
Melanie Winter and her dog, Maisie, look over the L.A. River near the Sepulveda Basin.
“She was a voice for nature and a voice for the river,” said Rita Kampalath, L.A. County’s chief sustainability officer and a longtime friend of Winter’s. “She had such strength of her convictions, and she was so clear-eyed in the vision that she wanted to push forward. And I think that inspired a lot of people.”
Winter had lung cancer but continued working and attending local water meetings even as her health declined. She died Tuesday night at a Los Angeles hospital where friends had been visiting to spend a little last time together.
“I think what always drove her was the sense of, it was a river that had been contained in concrete … and that nature-based solutions could do a better job,” said Conner Everts, a friend and leader of the Southern California Watershed Alliance. “Her goal was to re-create a natural meandering river, with the ability to recharge into the [San Fernando] Valley and restore nature, as much as possible.”
Winter was born in 1958 and grew up in the Valley.
She was a talented dancer, and at 17 moved to New York City to start a career as a dancer and actor. She performed in Broadway shows and several Hollywood films, and also found work as a photographer, making black-and-white portraits of actors including Bruce Willis, Helen Hunt and Val Kilmer.
She left the city in 1991 and moved back to L.A., where she gravitated toward other art forms and social activism.
Melanie Winter admires the lush surroundings during a canoe trip on the L.A. River in the Sepulveda Basin in 2024.
She organized a river cleanup for the group Friends of the Los Angeles River, and then a pivotal moment came in 1996 when she attended a meeting where she heard activist Dorothy Green eloquently describe how concrete channels had starved the life from waterways, and how the city could make room for the river once again. Green became her mentor.
She sued developers and the city to challenge a planned development by the river, and organized a community coalition to push for a new state park. In 2007, she and others celebrated the opening of Rio de Los Angeles State Park.
Winter spoke passionately about the need for a network of parks “along the backbone system of our waterways,” saying this can boost ecosystems, improve air quality and protect public health. The lush, shady vegetation along restored stretches of river, she said, can provide natural cooling, helping the city become more resilient to climate change.
“I want to reverse-engineer us to a better future,” Winter said in an interview in 2024. “It would be a living river instead of a concrete river.”
At Rio de Los Angeles State Park, Melanie Winter sits on a bench designed by local artists to commemorate the park’s founding.
Winter was steadfast and uncompromising as she faced resistance from engineers and local officials who preferred traditional hard-infrastructure approaches.
“Engineers just can’t wrap their heads around the idea that nature can do it cheaper, better, easier than they can,” she said. “If you want a livable Los Angeles, then I fully believe that flipping the script on how we treat our waterways is central to it all.”
Three years ago, her group published a study outlining a proposal to restore the river and its tributaries in the Sepulveda Basin and transform the area into the “green heart” of the Valley, reducing the size of three golf courses and opening wide corridors where the river and creeks would spread out in the floodplains.
Winter was disappointed when the city released a plan for the area that she said failed to prioritize restoration.
“Even though she met with so much resistance over the years, she didn’t lose her optimism and her strong desire to make positive change,” said Melissa von Mayrhauser, a doctoral student at UC Berkeley who interviewed Winter for her research and became a friend. “I’m inspired by her vision, and I have brought that into my research, and I plan to continue working on a career in river restoration.”
She said Winter’s legacy includes not only the parks and neighborhood projects she completed, but also vital plans and concepts that can still be adopted throughout the watershed, and along other rivers.
“Thanks to Melanie, there are so many more people imagining a living L.A. River than ever before,” she said.
Melanie Winter leaves the site of a shuttered quarry with her dog, Maisie, in 2024. She supported a proposal to converttwoold gravel quarry pits into giant reservoirs where storm runoff could be routed to recharge the aquifer and reduce flood dangers downstream.
Near Winter’s home in Studio City sits a small riverside park shaded by cottonwood trees, where the native plants attract hummingbirds. There is a bench shaped like a butterfly, a retaining wall with a snake sculpture, and a green metal gate with an arch in the form of a giant toad.
In the early 2000s, Winter started envisioning the park, called Valleyheart Greenway, and invited a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students to design the garden landscape.
When the park opened in 2004, Winter said it wasn’t just about planting the garden, but also about instilling in the children a connection to their river.
Learning about the river, she said, created a group of “children with a fierce sense of place and a fierce determination to protect what’s left and to bring back as much as we can.”
High School Playbook Game of the Week Poll: Oct. 24, 2025
Where should KCRA 3 go for the Game of the Week for Week 10 on Friday, Oct. 24?
High school football is back for 2025 and we could use your help, once again, to produce our High School Playbook show. Where should KCRA 3 go for the Game of the Week for Week 10 on Friday, Oct. 24? The games for consideration are:El Camino vs. Casa RobleInderkum vs. Rio AmericanoWheatland vs. CenterPleasant Grove vs. Elk GroveThe poll below closes at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21.(Mobile users, click here if you don’t see the poll.)| MORE | Share your Fan Fits at games all season long. Watch our High School Playbook show Fridays on the KCRA 3 News at 11 p.m.
High school football is back for 2025 and we could use your help, once again, to produce our High School Playbook show.
Where should KCRA 3 go for the Game of the Week for Week 10 on Friday, Oct. 24?
The games for consideration are:
El Camino vs. Casa Roble
Inderkum vs. Rio Americano
Wheatland vs. Center
Pleasant Grove vs. Elk Grove
The poll below closes at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21.
Walt Disney World has been a Florida staple since 1971, but visiting the “Most Magical Place on Earth” has become increasingly costly over the decades.Over the past 50 years, Walt Disney World tickets have soared from $3.50 to over $200 on peak days. While Florida residents enjoy discounted passes, multi-day ticket deals and resort offers, out-of-state visitors face full pricing. Video above: Walt Disney World Fallidays Sweepstakes Here’s a look at how Disney World ticket prices have evolved and how Florida residents have enjoyed special perks along the way.1971 – The Magic BeginsTicket Price: $3.50 – $8When Walt Disney World opened its gates in Orlando, single-day tickets cost just $3.50 (about $27 in today’s dollars). Everyone paid the same with no resident discounts or promotions yet. Families flocked to experience the park’s rides, shows and attractions.1980s – Growth and AdventureTicket Price: $23.50 – $25Ticket prices climbed from $8 in 1980 to $23.50 by 1989. New rides and attractions made the price increases feel worth it, and Orlando was quickly becoming a must-visit vacation spot for families across the nation.1990s – Residents Get a PerkTicket Price: $35 – $225Tickets rose from $25 in 1990 to $35 by 1995. Florida residents began seeing special offers, including:Discounted annual passes for localsExample: In 1993, a Florida resident’s annual pass was priced at $190, while out-of-state guests paid $225 for the same pass.Resort package dealsOut-of-state visitors still paid full price, but locals could now enjoy more affordable ways to visit frequently.2000s – Tiered Pricing & ExpansionsTicket Prices: $41- $99From $41 in 2000 to $69 by 2009, ticket prices continued to rise. This decade introduced:Peak vs. off-peak pricingFlorida resident promotions like the Play 4-Day Pass, giving locals access to all four Disney parks for $99Flexible multi-day tickets and annual pass deals for residents2010s – Dream Passes & Seasonal DealsTicket Prices: $84 – $104Ticket prices climbed from $69 to $92, but Florida residents continued to benefit from perks such as:4-Day Dream Pass: $84 for Florida residents with optional Park Hopper for ~$26Annual pass discounts with early park entry and merchandise dealsRoom discounts at Disney resorts, often up to 25%Special seasonal ticket promotions unavailable to out-of-state visitorsEven though the Park Hopper option was available to all guests, Florida residents often had discounted rates during these promotions.2020s – Peak Prices & Modern MagicTicket Prices: Range from $109 to $189Prices vary based on what day and what park the ticket is being purchased for, and what the demand is. Florida residents can still access:Discounted annual passesMulti-day ticket deals like the 3-Day, 3-Park specialPark Hopper add-on available for Florida residents for $40, allowing access to multiple parks in a single dayResort package discountsMeanwhile, out-of-state guests pay full price, especially on peak-demand days.
Walt Disney World has been a Florida staple since 1971, but visiting the “Most Magical Place on Earth” has become increasingly costly over the decades.
Over the past 50 years, Walt Disney World tickets have soared from $3.50 to over $200 on peak days. While Florida residents enjoy discounted passes, multi-day ticket deals and resort offers, out-of-state visitors face full pricing.
Video above: Walt Disney World Fallidays Sweepstakes
When Walt Disney World opened its gates in Orlando, single-day tickets cost just $3.50 (about $27 in today’s dollars). Everyone paid the same with no resident discounts or promotions yet. Families flocked to experience the park’s rides, shows and attractions.
1980s – Growth and Adventure
Ticket Price: $23.50 – $25
Ticket prices climbed from $8 in 1980 to $23.50 by 1989. New rides and attractions made the price increases feel worth it, and Orlando was quickly becoming a must-visit vacation spot for families across the nation.
1990s – Residents Get a Perk
Ticket Price: $35 – $225
Tickets rose from $25 in 1990 to $35 by 1995. Florida residents began seeing special offers, including:
Discounted annual passes for locals
Example: In 1993, a Florida resident’s annual pass was priced at $190, while out-of-state guests paid $225 for the same pass.
Resort package deals
Out-of-state visitors still paid full price, but locals could now enjoy more affordable ways to visit frequently.
2000s – Tiered Pricing & Expansions
Ticket Prices: $41- $99
From $41 in 2000 to $69 by 2009, ticket prices continued to rise. This decade introduced:
Peak vs. off-peak pricing
Florida resident promotions like the Play 4-Day Pass, giving locals access to all four Disney parks for $99
Flexible multi-day tickets and annual pass deals for residents
2010s – Dream Passes & Seasonal Deals
Ticket Prices: $84 – $104
Ticket prices climbed from $69 to $92, but Florida residents continued to benefit from perks such as:
4-Day Dream Pass: $84 for Florida residents with optional Park Hopper for ~$26
Annual pass discounts with early park entry and merchandise deals
Room discounts at Disney resorts, often up to 25%
Special seasonal ticket promotions unavailable to out-of-state visitors
Even though the Park Hopper option was available to all guests, Florida residents often had discounted rates during these promotions.
2020s – Peak Prices & Modern Magic
Ticket Prices: Range from $109 to $189
Prices vary based on what day and what park the ticket is being purchased for, and what the demand is.
Florida residents can still access:
Discounted annual passes
Multi-day ticket deals like the 3-Day, 3-Park special
Park Hopper add-on available for Florida residents for $40, allowing access to multiple parks in a single day
Resort package discounts
Meanwhile, out-of-state guests pay full price, especially on peak-demand days.
HERITAGE VERY CLOSE TO HEART. WITH EVERY BRUSHSTROKE, ALISON ZAPATA POURS EVERYTHING IN HER PIECES JUST LIKE THIS. BUT ONE THING HAS REMAINED CLEAR THAT SHE HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN HER ROOTS. THROUGH EVERY PIECE, ALISON ZAPATA HAS CREATED THE MEANING BEHIND THEM MAY CHANGE, BUT AT THE CORE, THE MISSION IS THE SAME. JOY, BEAUTY, MAYBE SOME STILLNESS. SOME CALM, BUT ALSO REALLY WRAPPING PEOPLE AROUND WITH LOVE. HER GRANDFATHER WAS BORN IN SAN LUIS POTOSI BEFORE COMING TO PITTSBURGH. A BORN AND RAISED PITTSBURGH. ZAPATA IS A YINZER THROUGH AND THROUGH. BUT GROWING UP, SHE SAYS SHE’S ALWAYS UNDERSTOOD HER HERITAGE. YOU KNOW, HE WOULD ALWAYS TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DON’T FORGET YOUR ROOTS. MAKE SURE YOU SAY YOUR LAST NAME. ALWAYS SAY YOUR LAST NAME THE RIGHT WAY. MAKE SURE THAT YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HONOR YOUR HERITAGE. AND IT IT SUNK IN. ZAPATA’S WORK CAN BE SEEN ALL OVER THE PITTSBURGH AREA IN RESTAURANTS, IN PARKS, OR BESIDES BUILDINGS. YOU PASS BY EVERY DAY. FOR HER, IT’S ABOUT CARRYING THE TORCH OF ART FORWARD. IT IMPACTED ME IN A WAY THAT WAS ABLE TO SUPPORT THE ARTWORK. SO IF I’M ABLE TO. YEAH. IMPACT OTHERS. I THINK THAT’S THAT’S THE BIGGEST THANKS THAT I COULD POSSIBLY HAVE FOR MY FAMILY. AND YOU KNOW, THE LONG LINEAGE OF ARTISTS THAT HAVE DONE THIS BEFORE ME. AND AS HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH CONTINUES, ZAPATA SAYS SHE WILL CELEBRATE THOSE WHO HAVE PAVED THE PATH FORWARD. SHE WILL ALSO PLAY HER PART IN HER OWN JOURNEY. IT’S A VERY SPECIAL TIME FOR CELEBRATION, FOR HONORING TRADITIONS, FOR HONORING THE COMMUNITY THAT’S HERE NOW. AND TO HIGHLIGHT THE BEAUTY IN THE GIFTS AND THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF LATINOS HERE IN PITTSBURGH. ZAPATA HOPES TO CONTINUE TO INSPIRE THE NEXT GENERATION TO BECOME ARTISTS, AND WILL CONTINUE TO SET THE EXAMPLE EVERY DAY. BUT FOR NOW. COVERI
‘Joy of making artwork’: Alison Zapata honors Latino heritage through displays
Alison Zapata, an artist, creates pieces that reflect her heritage and mission of joy, beauty, and love, with her work displayed throughout her hometown. Her grandfather was born in San Luis Potosí before coming to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She said growing up, her parents emphasized the importance of remembering her roots. “He would always talk about , you know, don’t forget your roots. Make sure you say your last name. Always say your last name the right way. Make sure that you honor your heritage, and it’s sunk in,” Zapata said.Zapata’s artwork can be seen all over Pittsburgh, in restaurants, parks, and beside buildings. For her, it’s about carrying the torch of art forward.”It’s part of, you know, the joy of making artwork. If I’m able to, yeah. And impact others, I think that’s the biggest thing that I could possibly have for my family. And, you know, the long lineage of artists that have done this before me,” Zapata said.As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, Zapata celebrates those who have paved a path forward and wants to play her part through her own journey.”It’s a very special time for celebration, for honoring traditions, for honoring the community that’s here now, and to highlight the beauty in the gifts and the contributions of Latinos here in Pittsburgh,” Zapata said.Zapata hopes to continue to inspire the next generation to become artists and will continue to set the example every day.
Alison Zapata, an artist, creates pieces that reflect her heritage and mission of joy, beauty, and love, with her work displayed throughout her hometown.
Her grandfather was born in San Luis Potosí before coming to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She said growing up, her parents emphasized the importance of remembering her roots.
“He would always talk about [and say], you know, don’t forget your roots. Make sure you say your last name. Always say your last name the right way. Make sure that you honor your heritage, and it’s sunk in,” Zapata said.
Zapata’s artwork can be seen all over Pittsburgh, in restaurants, parks, and beside buildings. For her, it’s about carrying the torch of art forward.
“It’s part of, you know, the joy of making artwork. If I’m able to, yeah. And impact others, I think that’s the biggest thing that I could possibly have for my family. And, you know, the long lineage of artists that have done this before me,” Zapata said.
As Hispanic Heritage Month continues, Zapata celebrates those who have paved a path forward and wants to play her part through her own journey.
“It’s a very special time for celebration, for honoring traditions, for honoring the community that’s here now, and to highlight the beauty in the gifts and the contributions of Latinos here in Pittsburgh,” Zapata said.
Zapata hopes to continue to inspire the next generation to become artists and will continue to set the example every day.
Pickleball is rapidly growing across Colorado, fueling a wave of stand-alone and all-in-one entertainment venues opening in Denver and nearby communities.
No longer limited to local park courts, at least four pickleball destinations have emerged this year in Louisville, Thornton, Aurora and Denver, with several more projects underway.
“You could Google indoor pickleball clubs, and there’s a lot now in the Denver Metro, but I think everybody offers a little something different. So I’m excited about it. I think there’s room for all of us,” said U.S. Army veteran Liz Tanji, who, alongside her husband Michael, recently opened Ace Pickleball Club, a national pickleball franchise, in Colorado.
Ace Pickleball Club is led by husband-and-wife team Liz and Michael Tanji in Aurora, Colorado on Oct. 6, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
Ace Pickleball Club, at 6626 S. Parker Road in Aurora, marks the Tanjis’ second location, building on the success of their first in Omaha, Neb., which opened in May.
Recognizing the rapid growth of pickleball, the shortage of public courts and the challenges of playing outdoors in cold weather, the Tanjis said Aurora was the perfect place to introduce a dedicated facility.
The club, which used to be a Big Lots store, has nine courts and a drill area and offers lessons.
Tanji said she and her husband learned to play during the COVID shutdown and loved the sense of community.
“Pickleball really is a sport for everyone, and we’re so excited to share it with the Aurora community,” Tanji said.
The evolution of pickleball
Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle. Three dads, Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum, are credited with creating the game when their kids grew bored with their usual summertime activities.
In 2024, there were an estimated 19.8 million pickleball players in the United States, a 45.8% increase from 2023, according to a 2025 Topline Participation Report by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
Although the sport is often linked to older participants, the largest age group of pickleball players are between 25 and 34. The sport gained more than 1 million participants under the age of 18 between 2022 and 2023.
Kelli Alldredge, president of Chicken N Pickle, began her journey with the company not as an executive, but as a passionate customer. As an avid tennis player, she was introduced to pickleball in 2016 through friends and quickly fell in love with the fast-paced, fun nature of the sport.
“It kind of was love at first sight,” she said. “I started playing every Sunday at our original (Chicken N Pickle) location, and that’s where I met the founder and the rest is history.”
Covering more than three acres and over 45,000 square feet, the Thornton Chicken N Pickle venue features eight professional-grade pickleball courts. (Photo provided by Chicken N Pickle)
The indoor and outdoor entertainment center opened in the Thornton community earlier this summer, marking its first Colorado location.
Covering more than three acres and over 45,000 square feet, the venue features eight professional-grade pickleball courts, including six indoor and two covered outdoor courts, along with a chef-driven restaurant, a lively sports bar and a variety of games and gathering spaces.
As it grows, Chicken N Pickle is shifting its focus toward acquiring complementary entertainment and hospitality concepts, as well as exploring city partnerships to build public pickleball court facilities, with particular emphasis on key growth markets such as Houston, Phoenix and Denver.
Rising construction costs and uncertainty surrounding international economic headwinds have played a role in the shift, the company announced in a July news release.
Designed for all ages and abilities, Chicken N Pickle venues offer adaptive pickleball programming and inclusive spaces that welcome everyone, from seasoned players to first-timers and families. (Photo provided by Chicken N Pickle)
Alldredge said they are interested in opening a second location in the Denver market and are actively looking for the right opportunity. She said they’re open to different possibilities, such as building next to city-run public courts or partnering with a similar concept. New construction is on hold for now.
“We’re just kind of hit the pause button and exploring all of our options. But two things are for sure, we’re still growing, and we absolutely want a second store in the Denver market,” Alldredge said.
What’s next for pickleball enthusiasts?
Denver residents can also look forward to another destination that includes pickleball to open by the end of this year. Moodswing, a 3.5-acre, $10 million entertainment venue, is set to debut in Denver’s Elyria Swansea neighborhood.
Located at 3625 E. 48th Ave., it will include 43,000 square feet of indoor space and 33,000 square feet outdoors. It will feature 125 parking spaces, six indoor and six outdoor pickleball courts, golf simulators, a coffee shop and co-working area, a full bar and kitchen serving Mediterranean and Italian-inspired cuisine and an outdoor live music area.
Construction at Moodswing at 3625 E. 48th Ave. (Photo provided by Moodswing)
Moodswing’s owners are the founders of Denver-based development firm Perpetual First, which includes Improper City and Rayback Collective owner Justin Riley, former Improper City General Manager Giovanni Leone and former Hagerty Insurance Manager Colton Cartwright.
Cartwright said coming out of the pandemic, people were still trying to figure out how to reintegrate into society, which helped lead to the idea of Moodswing.
Cartwright said that in 2022, he and Riley went out to play pickleball and experienced a “holy cow” moment as they observed how people connected and interacted on and off the court.
“It’s just like a nice, natural icebreaker. It’s low barrier to entry, super fun and approachable, whether it’s your 8-year-old niece or nephew, or your 85-year-old grandma or grandpa and everyone in between. And so that’s what really drew us and made us think it was a cool opportunity,” he said.
Moodswing had plans to open earlier this year, but setbacks in the permitting process and how to access the property caused delays.
“It’s been quite the journey, you know, over three years working on this project,” he said.
“There’s been so much support and so much excitement around it, and (we) just really cannot wait to get these doors open.”
In the meantime, Pickleball enthusiasts can enjoy the 40 outdoor and 67 indoor pickleball courts across Denver, according to Denver Parks and Recreation.
The city plans to expand opportunities to play the sport by adding three new courts at Rosamond Park and three to five new courts at the Lowry Sports Complex. Both projects are expected to be completed by spring 2027.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide if licensed guns owners have a right to carry their weapons at public places, including parks, beaches and stores.
At issue are laws in California, Hawaii and three other states that generally prohibit carrying guns on private or public property.
Three years ago, Supreme Court ruled that law-abiding gun owners had a 2nd Amendment right to obtain a permit to carry a concealed weapon when they leave home.
But the justices left open the question of whether states and cities could prohibit the carrying of guns in “sensitive locations,” and if so, where.
In response, California enacted a strict law that forbids gun owners from carrying their firearm in most public or private places that are open to the public unless the owner posted a sign permitting such weapons.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down that provision last year as going too far, but it upheld most of a Hawaii law that restricted the carrying of guns at public places and most private businesses that are open to the public.
Gun-rights advocates appealed to the Supreme Court and urged the justices to rule that such restrictions on carrying concealed weapons violate the 2nd Amendment.
The court agreed to hear the case early next year.
Trump administration lawyers urged the justices to strike down the Hawaii law.
It “functions as a near-complete ban on public carry. A person carrying a handgun for self-defense commits a crime by entering a mall, a gas station, a convenience store, a supermarket, a restaurant, a coffee shop, or even a parking lot,” said Solicitor General D. John Sauer.
Gun-control advocates said Hawaii had enacted a “common sense law that prohibits carrying firearms on others’ private property open to the public.”
“The 9th Circuit was absolutely right to say it’s constitutional to prohibit guns on private property unless the owner says they want guns there,” said Janet Carter, managing director of Second Amendment Litigation, at Everytown Law. “This law respects people’s right to be safe on their own property, and we urge the Supreme Court to uphold it.”
A hiker who was attacked by a bear — probably a grizzly — in Yellowstone National Park this week has been released from the hospital.
The 29-year old man had been hiking alone on the remote Turbid Lake Trail when he apparently surprised the bear, according to park officials. While trying to use bear spray, he sustained “significant but not life-threatening injuries to his chest and left arm,” according to officials.
National Park Service medics responded to the scene, and the victim was able to walk with them to the trailhead, where he was loaded into an ambulance and taken to a nearby clinic. From there, a helicopter flew him to a hospital. He was released Wednesday.
As is true in the rest of the U.S., bear attacks are exceedingly rare in Yellowstone. Since the park was established in 1872, eight people have been killed by bears, according to the park’s website. For comparison, 125 people have drowned and 23 have died from burns after falling into hot springs.
Even seeing a grizzly bear is pretty uncommon in the lower 48 states. Prior to 1800, they were much more common, with an estimated 50,000 roaming the American West. But European settlers viewed them as a mortal threat to people and livestock and hunted them to near extinction, reducing their number to less than 1,000 in the contiguous U.S.
Thanks to recovery and conservation efforts in recent decades, the population has increased to nearly 2,000, mostly in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Still, the specter of a bear attack, especially by a grizzly, is enough to make most hikers’ blood run cold. While experts tell backcountry travelers to stand their ground and fight back if attacked by a black bear, the standard advice for years has been to lie down and play dead in the face of a much larger, more aggressive grizzly.
That advice has been updated lately, but not by much. A national parks website providing guidance on what to do says, “If you surprise a grizzly/brown bear and it charges or attacks, do not fight back! Only fight back if the attack persists.”
The hiker who was attacked on Tuesday told park officials he thought it was a black bear, but the location, behavior and size of the bear made park staff suspect it might have been a grizzly.
Discovery of an animal carcass near the attack, and confirmation that bear tracks found nearby were left by a grizzly, support that conclusion.
The trail has been closed indefinitely and rangers swept the area to make sure there weren’t any other hikers in imminent danger.
As for the bear? Parks officials say it was probably surprised too and merely acting in self-defense. So the park, “will not be taking any management action against the bear.”
Last year, Jon Kyle Mohr faced a similar encounter with a black bear in California’s Yosemite National Park.
He was less than a mile from the end of a 50-mile ultra-run he had started 16 hours earlier in Mammoth Lakes when he saw a huge black shape charging at him.
In an instant, he said, he felt “some sharpness” on his shoulder followed by a powerful shove that sent him stumbling in the dark. When he turned around, people about a hundred feet away were shining their headlamps in his direction and shouting, “Bear!”
It worked. The bear disappeared into the darkness and Mohr was left with torn clothes and a few scratches, but no more serious damage.
Asked how he felt about the experience, Mohr said he was incredibly shaken at first, and lucky it had happened near the Vernal Falls trailhead, one of the most populated places in the park.
But after a day or two to reflect, he had settled into a more zen frame of mind.
“It was just a really strange, random collision,” he said. “If I had rested my feet for 20 seconds longer at any point,” during the 16-hour run, “it wouldn’t have happened.”
A 21-year-old woman who had been drinking drove a BMW sedan into a park, then struck and severely injured a 5-year-old girl on a scooter in the Midway neighborhood on Saturday afternoon.
The woman “drove a 2018 BMW 335i onto a closed park pathway at 2500 Laning Road,” according to the San Diego Police Department. The incident happened around 4:40 p.m. Saturday.
In the park, the driver struck a steel bench, then crashed into the child, who was on a scooter. The woman then struck a tree, an officer said.
The girl was “transported to a local hospital with life-threatening head injuries and may not survive.”
Officials said that alcohol “was a factor in this collision” and that the woman was arrested at the scene. It was unclear if she suffered any injuries. Her blood-alcohol level was not disclosed.
San Diego Police Traffic Division will handle the investigation.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Science meets skating this Monday as Oaks Park Roller Rink hosts a special event in honor of Oregon Science Week. From 6 to 8 PM on September 8, families, students, and curious minds of all ages are invited to enjoy an evening of interactive STEM activities—on wheels.
The historic rink, one of the oldest in the nation, will be transformed into a vibrant celebration of science and movement. The event promises a high-energy roller-skating session paired with hands-on experiments and demonstrations designed to make science fun and accessible.
“Oregon Science Week is about sparking imagination and making science accessible to everyone,” said Emily MacKay, Marketing & Events Director at Oaks Park. “We’re excited to offer the joy of skating with engaging STEM fun, giving kids and adults alike a chance to learn, move, and celebrate together.”
Highlights of the event include:
A science-themed roller skating session under disco lights
Live STEM demos and interactive activities
Discounted admission and a rare chance to skate in a piece of Portland history
Tickets are just $5 per skater, and include standard skate rental if purchased online. Admission is free for non-skating chaperones. On-site tickets will be available, though skate rentals start at $1. Parking is $4 per vehicle.
Whether you’re a science lover or just looking for a fun way to spend Monday evening, Oaks Park promises a unique blend of education and entertainment for all ages.
Video shows a boy walking on the monorail tracks at Hersheypark before being rescued by an adult.Watch the video in the player above.The video, sent to sister station WGAL, shows a panicked crowd trying to direct the child to a nearby roof, where a man is waiting to grab him.The man then hops up on the monorail from the roof of the nearby building, picks up the boy and carries him to safety. The child was reported missing around 5:05 p.m. Saturday after becoming separated from his parents, according to a statement from a spokesperson for Hersheypark. While employees were searching for the boy, he entered a secured area for the monorail and remained there for almost 20 minutes before briefly walking along the track. The monorail was not in operation, and the ride was chained off as the child walked on the tracks, according to the park. The park said a guest quickly noticed the child walking on the tracks and helped the child off the track to safety.
HERSHEY, Pa. —
Video shows a boy walking on the monorail tracks at Hersheypark before being rescued by an adult.
Watch the video in the player above.
The video, sent to sister station WGAL, shows a panicked crowd trying to direct the child to a nearby roof, where a man is waiting to grab him.
The man then hops up on the monorail from the roof of the nearby building, picks up the boy and carries him to safety.
The child was reported missing around 5:05 p.m. Saturday after becoming separated from his parents, according to a statement from a spokesperson for Hersheypark.
While employees were searching for the boy, he entered a secured area for the monorail and remained there for almost 20 minutes before briefly walking along the track.
The monorail was not in operation, and the ride was chained off as the child walked on the tracks, according to the park.
The park said a guest quickly noticed the child walking on the tracks and helped the child off the track to safety.
The power of culture will be shared at a free community event for all ages on Saturday, June 14, featuring food and music, presented by the Gloucester Cultural Initiative.
The two-part event, titled “A Celebration of Resiliency and the Multi-Cultural Heritage of Cape Ann,” starts with a culinary festival and finishes with a concert.
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The team behind Michelin-starred Galit will open an all-day cafe next to their award-winning restaurant. Chef Zach Engel and partner Andrés Clavero plan to debut Cafe Yaya this winter at 2431 N. Lincoln Avenue, sandwiched between the Biograph Theater and Galit.
The counter-service cafe will debut with morning pastries and an al carte dinner menu, but there are plans for lunch, brunch, and takeout, according to a news release. It’s a walk-in cafe with reservations available for parties of four or more. Cafe Yaya’s second floor will be available for private events, and ownership hopes to work with local artists, teachers, and entrepreneurs.
Engel and Clavero feel the new project is a natural extension of Galit, and that the new cafe will further nurture the Lincoln Park community. Mary Eder-McClure, Galit’s longtime pastry chef is baking pastries like walnut baklava; fig, goat cheese, and zataar-stuffed challah, potato bourekia (a savory hand pie) with everything spice; and a vegan apple puff with sahleb (a Middle Eastern milk pudding).
Beyond the more casual setting, Cafe Yaya’s wine program will diverge from Galit with bottles from overlooked regions, including Chinon, France; and South America. There will be plenty of wines by the glass with the selection curated by Scott Stroemer, Galit’s bar director.
Galit set a standard for food with Israeli and Palestinian influences, and Engel is a James Beard Award winner. Cafe Yaya’s dinner menu with a blend of French, Jewish, Southern, Middle Eastern, and Midwestern touches. They’ll pour coffee from Sparrow Coffee Roastery, a familiar sight at many local fine dining restaurants.
News of Clavero and Engel’s project broke in the spring 2023, and progress has inched along. Meanwhile, Galit has continued to star with a family-style multi-course meal. Construction is still far from completion, so expect more details as 2024 comes to an end.
Cafe Yaya, 2431 N. Lincoln Avenue, scheduled to open in winter 2025
If you spend much time in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, you will notice, amid the clamor of buses and trucks and car horns and vendors hawking their goods, a nearly steady symphony of sirens.
They scream day and night in rapid response to an endless run of emergencies, many of them in and around MacArthur Park. But it’s not usually a fire that LAFD Station 11 is responding to. Through August of this year, there have been 599 drug overdose calls, compared with 36 runs for structure fires.
“I’ve had three in one day, same person,” said firefighter/paramedic Madison Viray, who has worked at Station 11 for nine years.
California is about to be hit by an aging population wave, and Steve Lopez is riding it. His column focuses on the blessings and burdens of advancing age — and how some folks are challenging the stigma associated with older adults.
That’s just one measure of how bad the epidemic is in the low-income neighborhood where homelessness is rampant, drugs are sold and consumed in the open, 83 people died of overdoses in 2023, and merchants complain of gang threats and thefts by addicts.
In the middle of it all is Station 11, located on 7th Street two blocks from the park, with its trucks rolling out around the clock in every direction. Hanging on a wall inside the station is a proclamation from Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez and her colleagues honoring the crew for being ranked by Firehouse Magazine as the busiest ladder company in the nation in 2022.
This year, Station 11 ranks just behind Station 9 in Skid Row (site of the city’s other major drug zone) for total runs, but it is on course to match last year’s total of 15,262 calls for fire and medical incidents (the majority of which do not involve overdoses).
Photographs of the crew at Los Angeles Fire Station 11 are mounted in the recreation room of the firehouse.
While I was meeting with several members of the crew in Station 11 Wednesday afternoon, Viray and engineer Cody Eitner left abruptly to answer a call from an alley near 6th Street and Burlington Avenue. They returned a short time later to say they were too late to save the victim.
“Someone found him and called, but they’d been gone for too long and there was nothing we could do,” Eitner said.
The word on the street is that the drugs in the neighborhood are dirty. Cocaine might be spiked with fentanyl, and fentanyl might be spiked with the veterinary tranquilizer Xylazine, or “tranq” —all of which elevates the possibility of bad reactions.
It’s not uncommon to see people in the park with multiple festering ulcers on their arms and legs — one of the side-effects of tranq. Nor is it uncommon to see people bent in half, like twisted statues, because of muscle rigidity the firefighters refer to as the “Fentanyl fold.”
“Most of the time they’re thankful for saving their lives,” Cody Eitner said about the people they have revived from drug overdoses.
Battalion Chief Brian Franco, who first worked at Station 11 two decades ago as a firefighter, said, “we’ve seen a lot more fatalities from the overdoses than we did with heroin.”
And yet with fentanyl, the drug naloxone, if administered quickly enough, can reverse the effects of opiates and save lives. Sometimes it’s used by friends of the victim, or by a MacArthur Park overdose response team recently initiated by Councilmember Hernandez and the L.A. County Department of Public Health. Or by crews from Station 11.
“The vast majority of our [overdose] calls now are fentanyl,” said Capt. Adam VanGerpen, who serves as a public information officer but also goes on runs. “If we see that there are very shallow respirations … then we’re gonna open up their eyes and see if their pupils are pinpoint. Now we know it’s probably not … cardiac arrest or … respiratory arrest. Now we’re thinking, OK, this is an overdose.”
It can be easier to treat a fentanyl case than a PCP or meth overdose, VanGerpen said, because the latter two drugs can make a person agitated and combative. If it’s a fentanyl overdose, responders will administer the naloxone as a nasal spray (Narcan), inject it into a muscle, or pump it through an IV, depending on the situation.
“Anytime we’re successful, it’s satisfying,” said Capt. Adam Brandos. “In a station like this, where we run so many calls as we do, and it’s kind of a monotonous routine, those little wins are really good with the morale. But it’s not so satisfying to see the repeat. And we’re not changing the cycle at all. … It keeps repeating itself over and over again.”
Two men slump on a bench in MacArthur Park.
Sometimes, Brandos said, a single response can trigger a cascade: “We may go on one call in the park where that call turns into four, because … of the other guy who’s over by the tree, and the other gal that’s over by the lake, and then the other person that’s over here. So that’s pretty normal.”
What is most striking about it all, Brandos said, is that these scenes play out so frequently they have become normalized.
When you first set eyes on the depths of social collapse and public distress, it’s shocking. But it’s all there again the next day, and the next, and although the shock endures, a bit of numbness takes hold, along with doubts that anyone in power is up to the task of restoring any semblance of order.
Anthony Temple, an emergency incident technician at Station 11, took me on a dark virtual tour of a typical day, beginning at the Westlake/MacArthur Park Metro Station, which has doubled in recent years as subterranean hall of horrors:
Capt. Adam VanGerpen watches as a fire truck is deployed from Station 11.
“People have overdosed … on the subway platform while people are getting out of the train,” Temple said. “You’ve got people moving around this person, and we all come down there and do what we’ve got to do and take them to the hospital and leave. And you go back to the station and you get dispatched on another overdose where the person will be down, on the sidewalk, kind of like hanging into the street. …
“It’s just day in, day out, morning, noon, night, sidewalk, platform, staircase, park,” Temple said. “You know, it’s just like everywhere.”
Two members of the crew, Viray and Brandos, said they’ve brought their children to the neighborhood to show them where Dad works, and to show them a world they couldn’t have imagined.
And the reaction?
“Shocked,” Viray said of his 14-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics with Los Angeles Fire Station 11 keep an eye on a man they revived from an overdose.
“I wanted to show them what some decision-making could look like,” said Brandos, whose girls are 9 and 11. “They wanted to know why everybody was leaning over on the sidewalk. … I told them exactly what was going on.”
The crew told me they share a camaraderie that’s specific to the demands of Station 11. If you choose to work there, it’s because you like staying busy, you take pride in the number of runs, and you learn to accept that you didn’t create the crisis and can’t fix it. You can only respond to it, one call at a time.
Just before 6:30 p.m., a call came in. A middle-aged man was down at Alvarado Street and Wilshire Boulevard, across the street from the park, in possible cardiac arrest from an overdose. A truck and an ambulance rolled, lights flashing, sirens blaring. They were on the scene in less than three minutes.
The subject was down in front of Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen, which is bordered by vendors selling electronics, clothing and toiletries. Some of them were closing down in the fading light of day, and people were still gathered behind the restaurant in an alley that serves as a drug bazaar. It’s a hellscape that has become part of the terrain, like the palm trees that rise over Alvarado Street and the street lamps that have gone dead.
One vendor went about his business as if he’d seen this scene play out so often he didn’t need to look again. Some passersby paused to check out the commotion, perhaps waiting to see if the unconscious man would make it. A boy of 10 or so moved in close enough to watch as three firefighters moved toward the man.
The air was rank with the day’s burned energy and wasted chances, and in the spot where I stood behind the ambulance, trash fanned out six feet into the street from the curb. A bag of chips. A Yoshinoya takeout bag. Coke cans. Empty food containers.
All of this is the normalized reality of a neighborhood that once stood as a gem of the city, and now suffers in wait for someone, anyone, to stand up and say this should not exist, cannot exist, and must end, for the sake of civility and for the benefit of the working people who make up the majority of the residents here, raising children who deserve better.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics with Los Angeles Fire Station 11 get ready to take a man, they just revived from a drug overdose, to the hospital at the corner of S. Alvarado and Wilshire Blvd.
Firefighter/paramedic Luke Winfield put on a pair of white latex gloves and prepared a nalaxone IV, tied a blue tourniquet around the man’s upper arm and plunged the life-saving drug into the crease of his elbow.
After several seconds, the man jerked up as if on springs, back from the edge of death. He asked what had happened.
“You overdosed,” one of the firefighters said.
Still wobbly, he fell onto a vending cart and lay on his back, looking up at the reincarnated sky as it faded to pink. He was going to make it. This time. They loaded him into the ambulance for a ride to the hospital.
I asked Winfield how many times, in his two years at Station 11, he had done what he just did.
At around noon on a Friday, chef and owner Miriam Montes de Oca hurried out of her restaurant, Morena’s Kitchen, and headed to Rush Medical Center. Her 26-year-old daughter, Tatiana, was giving birth to Montes de Oca’s second granddaughter, Hailey. “I ran to the hospital because Tatiana was supposed to have the baby quickly, but [Hailey] didn’t come until the next day at 8 o’clock in the morning,” she says.
Hailey’s arrival coincided with the revival of Morena’s, as Montes de Oca had recently reopened the restaurant at a new location, 3758 W. North Avenue in Humboldt Park. She shut down the original restaurant — located about three miles west in Belmont Cragin at 5054 W. Armitage Avenue — three years ago.
Welcoming a new granddaughter while restarting her business has been a whirlwind for Montes de Oca, but she’s enjoying the journey. Before the closure, for five years, Morena’s Kitchen served Dominican staples like sancocho, oxtail, and red snapper — and Montes de Oca’s famous Dominican fried chicken.
The chicken is legendary.
The spice blend for that chicken hasn’t changed, and Montes de Oca guards the recipe with absolute secrecy. Diners can also taste that it’s been cleaned in the Caribbean way, with citrus or vinegar. Heated online debates over whether you should wash meat — the CDC says no, almost everyone with melanin says yes — fail to realize that most Caribbean, Asian, and African meat-washing techniques serve mainly as a brine to remove the gamy taste meat can often have, giving the dish a clarity of flavor, which Morena’s chicken — and their oxtail and lengua — have. “That fried chicken can’t go nowhere,” Montes de Oca laughs. “People love it the most.”
Montes de Oca closed her restaurant in January 2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was a hard time. There was not enough money coming in, so I preferred to close down before it was too late for me,” she says.
Miriam Montes de Oca cooking in her new kitchen.
She took a job with United Airlines at O’Hare International Airport to pay bills. With the extra time not running a restaurant, she was able to help Tatiana with her 2-year-old daughter, Catalina. Free airplane tickets also allowed Montes de Oca to go back to the Dominican Republic three to four times a year after not having been home for nearly two decades. “I was without my country for 16 years,” she says. “And when I closed the restaurant, I went back and I fell in love with my country again.”
Montes de Oca got the opportunity to reopen Morena’s when Vladimir Rodriguez, the owner of a Mexican bar and restaurant called La Leña, found he could no longer handle the expenses. He offered the restaurant space to Montes de Oca, and she didn’t hesitate. Rodriguez kept the bar half of the space, connected to Morena’s through a sliding door that’s usually open with customers easily moving through both businesses. The partnership has been good. “We work together,” Montes de Oca says. “The clients that drink over there, they ask for my food. And when people finish eating here, they say, ‘Oh you got a bar next door?’ and I tell them to go ahead and take a look.”
Still, when customers search Morena’s by name online, the old location still pops up instead of the new North Avenue location and La Leña comes up when searching by address. “I need to change it,” Montes de Oca says. “Everybody is confused. They ask me, ‘Are you La Leña’s, are you Morena’s? Are you Mexican, are you Dominican?’”
Seafood and other Dominican specialties are available.
The best way to find the address, hours, and special announcements is through Facebook and Instagram — Morena’s regulars will find the menu unchanged, with a notable new section. Although firmly a Dominican restaurant, Montes de Oca retained some Mexican holdovers from La Leña’s menu like tortas, tacos, burritos, and chilaquiles. She notes that keeping the items helps La Leña’s old diners with the transition, but they also sell extremely well because she offers less commonly served meats like tripe and lengua.
Business has been good overall, with some ebbs and flows, Montes de Oca says. “To be out of the business for almost three years? I can’t complain.”
Many of Morena’s customers have transitioned to the new location seamlessly, either through word of mouth, Facebook posts, or walking by and doing a double take when they see the old sign. “Three days ago, one customer came and said ‘More, I thought somebody stole your name!’ I was like, ‘No, it’s me, I’m here. I’m back in business.’”
On weekends, Montes de Oca serves Dominican dishes like chivo guisado and rabo guisado (Dominican-style braised goat and oxtail). It can be hard to source specifically Dominican ingredients — especially Dominican oregano, which has a stronger flavor — but Montes de Oca gets many ingredients from a Dominican Chicagoan who brings it back from trips to New York. The restaurant also stocks traditional Dominican sodas, like the brand Country Club, in addition to more familiar brands like Mexican Jarritos.
Other options included mondongo, or tripe stew, and sancocho, a Latin American meat and vegetable stew widely thought to have roots in the Afro Latino community, whose ancestors were forcibly brought to the Caribbean, South and Central America by Spanish enslavers. Montes de Oca is Afro Latina, hence the name of the restaurant and Montes de Oca’s nickname, More. Morena means “dark-skinned” in Spanish, often referring to Latinas of African descent. As for the nickname, Montes de Oca says it’s a positive thing, although many people ask whether it bothers her. “I say no. It’s sweet, not the bad way. And it’s true. I am Morena, and it’s my nickname in the Dominican Republic, too.”
One of the more distinctive Dominican staples available at the restaurant every day are los tres golpes, meaning “the three hits” in Dominican Spanish — fried Dominican salami, fried eggs, and some fried cheese. Montes de Oca eats it with mangú, a cousin of Puerto Rican mofongo made from boiled plantain that she squishes like mashed potatoes.
Montes de Oca tops tres golpes with a savory onion gravy cooked in oil and vinegar. The rotisserie chicken — which fans of Peruvian pollo a la brasa will find familiar. Served with plain white rice, it’s her oldest granddaughter Catalina’s favorite meal.
Morena’s presence on the Chicago food scene is a relief for Dominicans in the city and surrounding suburbs since there isn’t much Dominican — or Caribbean — food in Chicago. Puerto Rican restaurants abound due to the large community here, but if you’re of Virgin Islander and Trinidadian descent like me, Guyanese, Bahamian, Haitian, or Dominican, the options get fewer and fewer. The Caribbean still maintains a presence on the dining scene in Chicago; Cafe Trinidad, 14 Parish, and Garifuna Flava are all great places.
Montes de Oca says one of her customers recently came in and excitedly told her about a Haitian restaurant near O’Hare, called Kizin Creole. “I told him, ‘For real, they got Haitian food?’ And I want to go try it because when I’m not here, I want to try something different. I like to go out with my kids and eat different foods and support other businesses because right now we need to help each other.”
Chicago lacks the abundance of choice diners might find in cities like New York, Miami, or Toronto, where clusters of Caribbean restaurants are within walking distance of each other. Montes de Oca says she would love for the options to diversify for Caribbean diners in Chicago and fans of our food, and she sees herself as part of that push.
Montes de Oca, who has lived in Chicago for 27 years, says she sees that changing in the coming years as New York, home to one of the country’s biggest Dominican communities, gets increasingly expensive. “Lots of Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are coming [to Chicago] from New York now. I have family in who are like ‘I can’t afford the city anymore, I’ve got to go.’”
Even though the Dominican community here in Chicago is small, Montes de Oca says they find a home with many of the Puerto Ricans in the city, both being from Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries, with African, Indigenous, and European influences, as well as other bursts of migration from South and East Asia and the Middle East. “We’re brothers and sisters. We eat the same thing with different names,” Montes de Oca says. For example, she’s happy to make jibaritos — a sandwich of meat in between huge slices of smashed and fried plantains — for her Puerto Rican customers, who represent a large portion of her customer base. Jibaritos are one of those Chicago staples that have become famous because of the Puerto Rican community here. But, it’s also a Dominican food — Montes de Oca says they call it patacón.
Whole-fried fish.
There’s more than fried chicken.
In some ways, Montes de Oca feels her new location is a seamless transition. In other ways, she feels like she’s starting over from scratch. Food costs were a particular shock, and she’s learning how to deal with inflation.
“When I went to the grocery store [three years ago], my plantain was like $35. Now it’s $47,” she says. “My oil was $19. Now it’s $30.”
Morena’s stays open much longer — until midnight most days, and 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday — than most restaurants in the city. That’s despite restaurants rolling back hours during the pandemic due to labor and decreased business. At Morena’s, the longer hours are also an attempt to enliven the Caribbean dining scene here in Chicago.
Chicago’s restrictions don’t support street or late-night food culture, between infrastructure that’s hostile to walkers and those who take public transit, cultural differences that encourage fast eating, and lowered profits coupled with rising food costs. But Montes de Oca is giving it a go.
“I need to make this happen, and my people are happy with that because they say, after 7 o’clock, you don’t find any Caribbean food open,” she says. “You can’t find food from us.”
BOSTON — The state is distributing nearly $28 million to communities and regional organizations to upgrade parks and preserve open space as part of broader efforts to blunt the impact of climate change.
The state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said it has awarded $27.8 million for park improvements and open space acquisition through several grant programs to help 54 communities and trusts to protect land. The spending will help preserve nearly 2,400 acres of open space statewide, the agency said.
Gov. Maura Healey said the open space program’s projects will “boost public health, drive tourism, and strengthen our economy” and that the spending is part of a large effort “creating sustainable communities and safeguarding our natural resources for future generations.”
“Investing in parks and open space is critical for our state’s resilience against climate change, tackling issues like urban heat islands, flooding, sea level rise, and drought,” Healey said in a statement.
The funding includes $500,000 for Lawrence to cover upgrades to Campagnone Common, a 17.5-acre park in the city’s downtown that hosts festivals and other gatherings.
“By enhancing public spaces for recreation and community, we’re not only fostering a healthier, more vibrant Lawrence but also contributing to our city’s economic vitality as more people come to enjoy everything Lawrence has to offer,” state Sen. Pavel Payano, D-Lawrence, said in a statement.
Salem is receiving $500,000 from the Parkland Acquisitions and Renovations for Communities program for renovations at Curtis Memorial Park that will upgrade structures and a playing field, the agency said.
The Essex County Greenbelt Association will receive $300,000 through the Conservation Partnership Grants program to preserve 84 acres of farmland, wildlife habitat and headwaters to the East Meadow River, a tributary to the Merrimack River and a major source of drinking water for Haverhill, the agency said.
A 1972 amendment to the state constitution, approved by 82% of voters, gave the state Legislature the authority to order the purchase of land – by eminent domain or otherwise – for conservation, recreation or open space. It set a two-thirds vote requirement for lawmakers to approve or make changes to protections.
A 2022 amendment to the law declares that land preservation is considered a “public purpose” by the state government and that “people have the right to clean air and water, freedom from excessive and unnecessary noise, and the natural, scenic, historic and aesthetic qualities of their environment.”
The law includes a provision that allows for a cash payment in lieu of replacement land, which must be at 110% of the property’s value.
Within three years of the transaction, the money must be deposited into a fund dedicated to the purchase of Article 97 land that is of “equal natural resource value and acreage.”
The Resilient Lands Initiative, a coalition of state agencies, nonprofit environmental groups and land trusts, wants to speed up land conservation in Massachusetts with a focus on climate resilience and environmental justice. The group has set a goal of conserving 30% of land statewide by 2030 and 40% by 2050.
Conservationists have faced a backlash from some local leaders who have raised concerns about the drain on their budgets when large tracts are taken off the tax rolls and made off limits to commercial development or housing projects that provide tax revenue.
The scramble for undeveloped land has also pitted advocates of open space against those of affordable housing, who argue that the need for low-income housing in many communities often takes a back seat to creating new parks, protecting forests and preserving wildlife habitat.
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.
The owners of Machine, a Wicker Park cocktail bar and lounge, are facing an eviction lawsuit. Their landlords filed the lawsuit on July 29, claiming the bar’s owners owe $31,584. The next court date is October 25, according to Cook County records.
Machine’s owners, Chireal Jordan and Brian Galati, confirm via a spokesperson that they permanently closed the bar in July and they failed to negotiate a lease. Online listings only show a temporary closure.
The bar struggled in recent months to attract customers and cut hours. Jordan and Galati are also behind Headquarters Beercade. In June, they opened another cocktail bar, Dearly Beloved, in Pilsen. The rep says the two want to soon open Machine in a different space and hope to settle their eviction dispute with their landlord, Newcastle Retail Management.
Dearly Beloved shares similarities with Machine, which opened in March 2019 at 1846 W. Division Street. While Division Steet isn’t really Chicago’s longest street (sorry, Mr. Terkel), the stretch around Wicker Park does come with complications for restaurant owners — and that was even before 2020 and COVID’s spread. Before Machine’s debut, Jordan and Galati described their upcoming project as a cocktail restaurant. It had gimmicks — interactive elements like a tiny hammer used to break caramelized sugar lids covering cocktails. A burger came topped with foie gras and that angered animal activists. The bar also had a floral display cooler that was regularly stocked. Customers could buy fresh flowers to impress dates and parents or make themselves happy.
However, after the politicians closed bars and dining rooms during the pandemic, Division Street launched into another phase. Wicker Park was once a hub for nightlife with customers routinely crawling through multiple taverns on a weekend night. In the ‘90s, it was more of a hipster vibe, with art and music leading the way. That environment quickly dissipated when sports bars, like the Fifty/50, set up shop in the ‘00s. The co-owner of Club Foot, a Ukrainian Village bar that closed in 2014 and was filled with pop-culture trinkets catering to customers who didn’t care for pop music and football, dubbed the sports bars popping up and threatening her business as “bro-holes.”
But the neighborhood has yet again shifted with more families in the neighborhood — just check out the “stroller parking” sign at Parlor Pizza. Throw in economic challenges including rising labor and food costs, and restaurant owners don’t know which way to pivot. There have been more recent closures along the strip: Fifty/50 and Whadda Jerk are shuttered just west of Damen Avenue. The owners of Takito Kitchen, which has been on Division for more than a decade, have repeatedly warned that they’re close to closing, begging customers on social media to return to help business.
Machine enjoyed a five-year run along Division Street, inside a space whose past lives included Taus Authentic and Prasino. The space now joins a list of growing vacancies between Ashland and Western.
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