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We're not your ordinary tour company. We’re Kim Cooper and Richard Schave, two passionate people looking out for Los Angeles, through historic preservation advocacy, deep research, community bu
06/13/2026
File under: failed stewardship with a silver lining. One of the replica Port of LA Waterfront Red Cars, lost to Ports o' Call redevelopment (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterfront_Red_Car ) will be moving to Griffith Park's Travel Town.
https://recreation.parks.lacity.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/commissioner/2026/jun18/26-144.pdf
To be discussed at 6/18 RAP Commission hearinghttps://ens.lacity.org/rap/agenda/rapagenda311198099_06182026.pdf
06/13/2026
Corruption and Los Angeles go together like hot dogs and sticks. In decades past, the racket would feather its nest until it got sloppy, citizens, the press and the courts would push back, and reformers would hit the reset button. But the racket no longer respects the process.
06/13/2026
Good news for citizens worried that Karen Bass would simply fence MacArthur Park without asking the community who uses it what they want: we've confirmed that because it is landmarked, the Cultural Heritage Commission must discuss any aesthetic changes, with public comment taken.
06/12/2026
Bug report! Our walking tour ticket checkout has got the vapors, so if you find yourself stymied trying to sign up for Angelino Heights, Westlake Park, Charles Bukowski, Film Noir or Raymond Chandler, just email and we'll get you signed up manually. https://esotouric.com/
06/12/2026
We have just TWO tickets left on the Know Your Downtown Los Angeles tour on June 20, featuring the Dutch Chocolate Shop with its beguiling tile murals, a real Prohibition-era speakeasy and tunnel exploration. https://esotouric.com/event/know-your-downtown-june-2026/
There's a real-life Cheshire Cat hanging out in South Los Angeles and we found him!
Click the link to find out more and for discounted tickets on Saturday's Angeleno Heights & Carroll Avenue walking tour.
http://esotouric.substack.com/cheshirecat
This week's news: Clifton's Cafeteria, Dan Kapelovitz' wild campaign video, Integrity Project takes on homeless housing scams, Marilyn Monroe's centennial, Hollywood Center Motel demolition by neglect, urban war games at the derelict Art Deco St. Luke campus, Sam Quinones on the trauma of living near a homeless camp, filing suit to protect the landmarked Barry Building from demolition for no new project, Hollywood Book City demolition, Pig 'n Whistle wrecker Mr. Tempo shuts down, The Standard on Sunset returns, live theater at Theosophy Hall, MacArthur Park fences, Sunland oak woodlands at risk and Downtown residents fight the Mayor's back room deal to privatize the park land at First and Broadway.
06/12/2026
If the allegations of District Attorney Nathan Hochman, that the Los Angeles Supervisors bankrupted the County by blithely signing off on a largely fraudulent $5B child s*x abuse settlement are correct, what other dumb stuff have they done? (ahem, LACMA.) https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/4-billion-la-county-child-s*x-abuse-settlement-fraud/
06/12/2026
Meet the astroturfed movement that wants to shut you up, uses Sacramento to do it. New documents reveal Abundance/Yimby funders as self-proclaimed "elite" who hate democracy, boast they "flipped Santa Monica City Council"--where none of them live or vote. https://prospect.org/2026/06/12/new-documents-detail-nine-figure-silicon-valley-funded-abundance-movement/
Here's the skinny on Clifton's: it's not a cafeteria, you can bring your own meal (try Arto's Broadway Deli half a block west in St. Vincent Court), the bars are open, it's free to walk in and watch World Cup games and will be open every day at 11am for the next two months. Also people are making out in dark corners. Part 7
Here's the skinny on Clifton's: it's not a cafeteria, you can bring your own meal (try Arto's Broadway Deli half a block west in St. Vincent Court), the bars are open, it's free to walk in and watch World Cup games and will be open every day at 11am for the next two months. Also people are making out in dark corners. Part 6