Hacker News with Generative AI: Los Angeles

'Beyond comprehension'; Chainsawed trees in L.A. hint at city core's decline (latimes.com)
As police investigate the destruction of mature trees in downtown Los Angeles, the blatant vandalism has reignited concerns about the city’s decline.
Los Angeles, Vandalism, Urban Decline, Environment
8 points by PaulHoule 3 days ago | 6 comments
Amid tariff turmoil, these warehouses are in big demand in L.A (latimes.com)
As steep tariffs on imports throw Los Angeles-area ports into turmoil and chill industrial property leasing, one rare type of building is suddenly in hot demand — bonded warehouses where goods can be stored without paying tariffs until they are removed.
Warehousing, Tariffs, Logistics, Real Estate, Los Angeles
5 points by dangle1 10 days ago | 0 comments
Port of Los Angeles says shipping volume will plummet 35% next week (cnbc.com)
Shipping, Economy, Ports, Los Angeles
724 points by perihelions 11 days ago | 642 comments
L.A. Soundstage Occupancy Drops to New Low of 63% with No Signs of Improvement (variety.com)
Soundstage occupancy in Los Angeles, which was in the 90% percentile from 2016-2022, fell to 63% in 2024.
Los Angeles, Entertainment Industry, Soundstages, Economy
7 points by ilamont 37 days ago | 0 comments
Installing air filters in classrooms has surprisingly large educational benefits (2020) (vox.com)
An emergency situation that turned out to be mostly a false alarm led a lot of schools in Los Angeles to install air filters, and something strange happened: Test scores went up. By a lot. And the gains were sustained in the subsequent year rather than fading away.
Education, Air Quality, Public Health, Research, Los Angeles
308 points by tangjurine 41 days ago | 142 comments
Elon Musk Gets Ready to Enter the Restaurant Business (nytimes.com)
A retro-futuristic diner is rising on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. Curved, silvery and flanked by two outdoor film screens, it looks as if a flying saucer had sailed out of a 1950s drive-in movie and come to rest in the parking lot.
Elon Musk, Restaurants, Los Angeles, Retro-futurism
17 points by danso 50 days ago | 15 comments
LA Faces $1B Budget Hole, Warns of Layoffs (bloomberg.com)
Los Angeles is facing a projected deficit of nearly $1 billion in the next fiscal year as the city grapples with the aftermath of historic wildfires and a deep decline in revenue.
Finance, Government, Los Angeles, Economy
6 points by petethomas 51 days ago | 0 comments
How Los Angeles Is Getting Scorched by Its Homeless Problem (realclearinvestigations.com)
VENICE, Calif. – Francesca Padilla was awakened by the sound of screaming people and breaking glass. Soon she could hear the tortured howls of her neighbor’s dog Togo as the bungalow right next to her Venice home was engulfed in flames.  
Homelessness, Los Angeles, California, Fire, Crime
4 points by mudil 53 days ago | 0 comments
Architect of classic Hollywood gets his own star turn (latimes.com)
Some of Southern California’s most iconic buildings stand as silent monuments to a little-publicized pioneer.
Architecture, History, Los Angeles
8 points by oregoncurtis 62 days ago | 2 comments
The man who spent forty-two years at the Beverly Hills Hotel pool (1993) (newyorker.com)
Until just a few weeks ago, no American seemed on better terms with fortune than Irving V. Link, who had spent most of the past half century playing gin rummy by the side of the pool at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles, Gin Rummy, Wealth, Lifestyle
273 points by zeveb 74 days ago | 304 comments
The weather and climate influences on the January 2025 fires around Los Angeles (climate.gov)
On January 7, 2025, a handful of wildfires erupted in the Los Angeles metro area and raced through multiple neighborhoods, killing more than two dozen people, razing upwards of 15,000 homes and businesses, and creating unhealthy air quality for millions of people.
Weather, Climate Change, Wildfires, Los Angeles
4 points by nradov 75 days ago | 0 comments
Reservoir was built to save Pacific Palisades. It was empty when the flames came (latimes.com)
After flames leveled nearly 500 homes in Bel-Air and Brentwood in 1961, Los Angeles had a reckoning over firefighting.
Firefighting, California, History, Los Angeles, Natural Disasters
39 points by perihelions 107 days ago | 21 comments
After the Fires (profgalloway.com)
My hometown of Los Angeles is experiencing wildfires that have torched a surface area greater than Boston or San Francisco. Students at UCLA, my alma mater, were warned to prepare for an evacuation order that, thankfully, didn’t come. Friends lost homes, others don’t know if their houses are still standing, or they’re contemplating moving back to what feels like a blast zone. At least 12,000 structures have been destroyed.
Wildfires, Los Angeles, Climate Change, Natural Disasters
4 points by Brajeshwar 112 days ago | 0 comments
Vintage cars survive Los Angeles area fires (usatoday.com)
Some classic and vintage cars survived the destructive Eaton and Palisades Fires even though they were parked directly in front of homes that burned.
Vintage Cars, Fires, Los Angeles
10 points by this_weekend 112 days ago | 2 comments
L.A. Fires: We Can't Let Insurance Companies Exploit the Disaster (rollingstone.com)
Mother Nature exploded in Los Angeles this month with the most damaging wildfires in the city’s, and likely the nation’s, history.
Wildfires, Los Angeles, Insurance, Disaster Relief
19 points by this_weekend 113 days ago | 26 comments
Some homes withstood the LA fires – architects explain why (bloomberg.com)
More than 12,000 structures have been consumed by the wildfires raging across Los Angeles, many of them single-family homes that have stood for decades.
Architecture, Wildfires, Los Angeles, Housing
45 points by JumpCrisscross 117 days ago | 81 comments
LA tree enthusiast shares her love for the city's canopy (theguardian.com)
On a recent Sunday morning, 25 Angelenos gathered under a large rusty leaf fig tree for a walking tree tour in a local Culver City park that was also playing host to an outdoor tai chi class as well as a group of yogis.
Trees, Los Angeles, Community, Nature
3 points by PaulHoule 118 days ago | 0 comments
Asking rents skyrocket as LA fires destroy homes (laist.com)
Rental housing prices in L.A. are spiking as historic fires burn in Southern California, forcing thousands of residents who’ve lost homes to scramble to find a new place to live.
Real Estate, Los Angeles, Fires, Housing Market
15 points by this_weekend 119 days ago | 1 comments
California overhauled its insurance system. Then Los Angeles caught fire (grist.org)
California, Insurance, Wildfires, Los Angeles
11 points by rntn 119 days ago | 1 comments
Inconvenient truths about the fires burning in Los Angeles from two fire experts (latimes.com)
For decades, Jack Cohen and Stephen Pyne have studied the history and behavior of wildfires. The magnitude of destruction this week in Los Angeles and Altadena, they argue, could have been mitigated. Society’s understanding and relationship to fire has to change if the conflagrations like these are to be prevented.
Wildfires, Climate Change, Los Angeles, Environmentalism, Fire Safety
34 points by andsoitis 120 days ago | 63 comments
Joan Didion on Los Angeles Real Estate, and Ignoring the Big One (1989) (newyorker.com)
Los Angeles, Real Estate, Essays, Journalism, California
9 points by marban 120 days ago | 2 comments
As a Climate Scientist, I Knew It Was Time to Leave Los Angeles (nytimes.com)
I am utterly devastated by the Los Angeles wildfires, shaking with rage and grief. The Altadena community near Pasadena, where the Eaton fire has damaged or destroyed at least 5,000 structures, was my home for 14 years.
Climate Change, California Wildfires, Climate Science, Los Angeles
15 points by vinni2 121 days ago | 5 comments
Collision with drone knocks Canadian firefighting plane out of L.A. battle (todayinbc.com)
Authorities in Los Angeles say a Quebec water bomber is out of service after colliding with a drone while fighting wildfires Thursday.
Wildfires, Drones, Canada, Aviation, Los Angeles
4 points by cf100clunk 121 days ago | 7 comments
Evacuation alert sent in error to phones of nearly 10M L.A.-area residents (nbcnews.com)
Evacuation orders and an alarm sound were mistakenly sent to cellphones of residents all over Los Angeles County and beyond on Thursday afternoon. But officials say the widespread alert was an error.
Technology, Los Angeles, False Alarms, Public Safety
5 points by perihelions 121 days ago | 0 comments
'Alarming': A Dangerous Diarrhea-Causing Superbug Is Spreading in Los Angeles (gizmodo.com)
A diarrhea-causing superbug is stirring up trouble in Los Angeles. Researchers have tracked down a worrying new strain of Shigella bacteria in the area—one that can resist almost every antibiotic thrown at it.
Health, Disease, Bacteria, Antibiotics, Los Angeles
28 points by pavel_lishin 145 days ago | 5 comments
Waymo's robotaxis are now available to everyone in Los Angeles (theverge.com)
Waymo is ditching its waitlist in Los Angeles, much like it did before in Phoenix and San Francisco, making its fully autonomous vehicles available to anyone who downloads the company’s Waymo One app.
Self-Driving Cars, Transportation, Los Angeles, Technology, Artificial Intelligence
9 points by gmays 175 days ago | 1 comments
Waymo One is now open to all in Los Angeles (waymo.com)
Roll out the red carpet. Starting today, anyone in Los Angeles can take fully autonomous rides 24/7 with Waymo One – rolling through Santa Monica, Hollywood Boulevard, USC, and everything in between.
Self-Driving Cars, Transportation, Los Angeles, Technology, Autonomous Vehicles
213 points by ra7 180 days ago | 371 comments
L.A. man accused of robbery string while wearing GPS ankle monitor (latimes.com)
A 19-year-old Los Angeles man was arrested five times in five months, including for robberies that he is suspected of committing while under court-ordered GPS tracking.
Crime, Law Enforcement, Technology, Los Angeles
9 points by rom16384 180 days ago | 1 comments
Los Angeles Times owner blocks presidential endorsement (cjr.org)
Mariel Garza, the editorials editor of the Los Angeles Times, resigned on Wednesday after the newspaper’s owner blocked the editorial board’s plans to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
News, Politics, Journalism, Los Angeles, Endorsements
13 points by dragonwriter 197 days ago | 1 comments
'Entire ecosystem' of fossils 8.7M years old found under Los Angeles high school (theguardian.com)
Marine fossils dating back to as early as 8.7m years ago have been uncovered beneath a south Los Angeles high school.
Paleontology, Los Angeles, Fossils, Geology
90 points by cpach 213 days ago | 23 comments