Larchmont Chronicle
VOL. 63, NO. 12
• DELIVERED TO 76,439 READERS IN HANCOCK PARK • WINDSOR SQUARE • FREMONT PLACE • MIRACLE MILE • PARK LA BREA • LARCHMONT •
IN THIS ISSUE
GROVE CELEBRATES
Dasha and kicked off the holiday season. 1-1
NEW DINER opens on Larchmont.
1-3
Holiday events light up the season at the Grove
Shutdown is over— now what?
n Snowfall nightly
n Government reopens
By Nathan Rifkin The Grove’s 24th annual tree lighting celebration Nov. 17 treated thousands of Angelenos to a night of star-powered performances, a drone spectacular, fireworks, and the first snowfall of the season. Lance Bass hosted the evening. Performers included Nick Carter, Dasha, and Natalie Jane. Cirque du Soleil ECHO and Asher Entertainment’s Toy Soldier Drummers and Dancers also performed. Santa Claus pulled a candy cane lever that lit a 100-foot tree with more than 300,000 twinkling lights and 10,000 ornaments. The Grove transforms into a See Grove, P 7
By Jon F. Vein After more than six weeks of stalemate, the federal government has finally reopened. The relief is palpable—from federal employees lining up at ATMs to travelers exhaling at LAX—but so are the bruises left behind. The sixweek shutdown that froze paychecks, snarled travel, and rattled confidence across Los Angeles may be officially over, yet the aftershocks will take weeks or even months to fade. This is what the shutdown did, what reopening looks like, and what Hancock Park residents can expect next. Air travel: flights resume, but disruptions remain The first and most visible impact of the shutdown was at the airport. By the end of last week, more than a thousand flights at Los Angeles International and surrounding airports had been delayed or canceled due to staffing shortages and FAA-ordered capacity cuts. Now that the
Rotary tree lot on Larchmont n Christmas trees are on the Boulevard
MAINTAIN health and sanity during the holidays. 1-10
VISIT many museums for the holidays. 2-3
Mailing permit:
DECEMBER 2025
By Nona Sue Friedman “Come to the happiest little tree lot on Larchmont,” said Wendy Clifford, the woman in charge of the Wilshire Rotary Christmas Tree Lot for the last 19 years. Find Christmas trees, wreaths, and wooden reindeer at 568 N. Larchmont Blvd. The lot opens for business Fri., Nov. 28, and remains open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. until the trees are gone. “When we’re out, we’re out,” said Clifford. Noble, Douglas, See Rotary tree, P 29
Health, Fitness & Beauty
Feel good and look great in the New Year with our special section in the January issue of the Larchmont Chronicle. Advertising deadline is Mon., Dec. 8. Contact 323-4622241, ext. 11, or email jesse@larchmontchronicle. com or sandy@larchmontchronicle.com.
BOARD OF TRANSPORTATION commissioners ask questions about Lot 694 on Larchmont Boulevard.
Neighborhood rallies to keep Blvd. parking lot
By Nona Sue Friedman The room on the 10th floor of City Hall was filled to its 90-person capacity on Nov. 13. Attendees were there to plead their case to the volunteer board of Transportation Commissioners to keep lot 694, also known as the Larchmont Farmers’ Market lot, as it is. The audience was a veritable who’s who of Larchmont. The issue at hand was that the city was planning to sign a long-term lease with Ron Simms, real estate developer and owner of the former
Rite Aid building across the street. Simms intended to develop the parking lot with retail and office space. O v e r 60 residents, including apartment dwellers, homeowners, block captains representing their entire block, families who have lived in the area for multiple generations, retail shop owners, and newcomers waxed poetic about the parking lot. One speaker referenced the Joni Mitchell lyric “They paved paradise, put up a parking lot,” and continued See Parking lot, P 27
See Shutdown, P 30
Soup kitchen feeds the heart, soul
n Volunteers fuel St. James’ Soup Kitchen By Margaret A. Ecker Delayed food stamp funding, inadequate housing, lack of access to mental health resources, and increased cost of health care coverage all converge to aggravate an already arduous existence for low-income and unhoused residents in Los Angeles. The Soup Kitchen at St. James’ Episcopal Church, located on Wilshire Boulevard near Wilton Place, has been providing services for 40 years. Initially conceived to deliver meals to the homebound living with AIDS, the soup kitchen has become a safe space from the street for unhoused neighbors. Ultimately, it’s a story of community-building for everyone involved.
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Three times a week, for a few hours at a time, volunteers offer home-cooked, nutritious meals made using rescued produce secured from Hollywood Food Co-
alition, Food Forward, and Seeds of Hope. Volunteers also provide donated clothing, books from a lending library, hygiene products, a phone charging station, an art taSee Soup kitchen, P 14
VOLUNTEER COOKS come out from the kitchen to help serve, including Willie Garcia (left) and Sudeep Biswas (right).
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