Poem of the day:

Where do local civic leaders dine off the clock, change their oil and groom their pets? What local businesses do they love — and which have they gone scorched earth on? @tomokichien.bsky.social found their Yelp reviews and built an interactive map lamaterial.com/p/la-politic...

Poem of the day:

A fascinating profile of CA GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton's wife Rachel Whetstone — a Silicon Valley PR superstar who hasn’t been to a campaign event. sfstandard.com/2026/07/06/r... @sfstandard.com

Poem of the day:

Grateful for all the passionate Dodgers parents who gave me their best tips & extremely detailed advice for this guide. Here’s how to pick shaded seats, avoid parking lot gridlock, find playgrounds & make the most of Dodger Stadium’s kid-friendly perks: lamaterial.com/p/dodgers-ga...

Poem of the day:

A $3 @mta.info subway fare and some good Q train timing can buy you one hell of a view of the July 4th fireworks and the Brooklyn Bridge light show! Huge shoutout to the train operator for slow rolling over the Manhattan Bridge and the conductor for announcing it.

Two somewhat contradictory facts: 1) All fireworks, even sparklers, are outlawed within the city of Los Angeles. 2) Fireworks are a near-nightly fact of life in much of Los Angeles.

Poem of the day: “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/147907...

How a scientist assesses air quality risk for his kids AQI readings can only tell us how much particulate matter is in the air, not what toxic metals or other substances might be in that particulate matter. @sherlyholmes.bsky.social lamaterial.com/p/how-a-scie...

Poem of the day:

The Shocking Budget Disaster Hitting One of L.A.'s Ritziest School Districts lamaterial.com/p/manhattan-... @lamaterial.bsky.social

This is the late-night text message Mayor Karen Bass sent Nithya Raman the night before Raman filed to run for mayor. Obtained via a public records request.

Meet the Harvard-Westlake caucus: @matt-hamilton87.bsky.social and I took a look at the 5 (!) Wolverines on the June ballot, and how they fared in the primary. lamaterial.com/p/the-harvar...

Five alumni from Harvard-Westlake, one of L.A.’s toniest private schools, ran for office this cycle. Here is how they performed in recent L.A. elections. Read for free: lamaterial.com/p/the-harvar...

A very good 2 a.m. recap by @sherlyholmes.bsky.social of all LA city races — some of which were decided last night, and some of which, like mayor, are still very much in play. Next drop with more updates will be today between 4 and 5 p.m.

First tranche of ballots in LA County is in! results.lavote.gov#year=2026&el...

Today is election day in California, Iowa, New Mexico, Montana, South Dakota, and New Jersey! Want to keep up with the coverage? Follow these politics reporters and elections experts for the very latest

I love thinking about how much goes into voting across our massive county. People are voting right now at a sun-bleached church on Catalina Island A Sheriff’s boat will take those ballots to Long Beach, where they’ll then be driven to City of Industry for counting. lamaterial.com/p/how-to-par...

LA Material is a brand-new newsroom with excellent journalists whose names you'll recognize from the LA Times and elsewhere. For only a few dollars, you can give them a try and enjoy an election night Zoom! lamaterial.com/upgrade

It's election day in Los Angeles, where voters are deciding who will advance to the Nov. 3 runoff. Mayor Karen Bass, democratic socialist Nithya Raman and reality TV personality Spencer Pratt are fighting to get into the top two. w/@noahmgoldberg.bsky.social www.latimes.com/california/s...

L.A. Material members join us at 9PM for an election night Zoom w @juliaturner.bsky.social, @matt-hamilton87.bsky.social & me! We’ll be taking through early election night returns, explaining contours of local races & answering q’s. Upgrade to join lamaterial.com/upgrade @lamaterial.bsky.social

Every four years, like the swallows returning to San Juan Capistrano, people across Los Angeles County are opening their ballots or stepping into a voting booth and realizing that they can’t vote for mayor because they don’t actually live in the city of L.A.

Happy Primary Election Day, California! Free rides on @metrolosangeles.bsky.social today! 🗳️ These other agencies in LA County are also providing free rides: • @ladotofficial.bsky.social Transit • Santa Monica Big Blue Bus • Long Beach Transit • Glendale Beeline • Pasadena Transit

It’s primary day in Los Angeles! But our local election system functions a little differently - if a candidate gets more than 50% in June, they win outright There are a few two person races where we’ll see a victor in June: -City Controller (Mejia vs Sokoloff) -Council District 11 (Park v Malik)

Be The Savior of the Left: Nithya Raman Campaign Urged Rae Huang to Drop Out. She Refused. LA Material’s @matt-hamilton87.bsky.social has the exclusive, including Huang’s response. Read for free:https://lamaterial.com/p/nithya-raman-rae-huang-drop-out-mayoral

NEW: I approached Rep. Maxine Waters yesterday -- and she wouldn't explain why she's opposing a $360M bond measure for a new school in Compton. Waters said a statement was coming out today. No statement came. More on a brewing controversy in Waters’ district lamaterial.com/p/maxine-wat...

The story of this year’s LA Council District 9 election is also a story of demographic change: After more than a half-century of Black representation, all six of the candidates on the ballot are Latino. Here’s my look at the race lamaterial.com/p/council-di...

Fascinating piece of LA political analysis

Is L.A. Finally Wresting Political Power Back from the Bay Area? With Xavier Becerra now the presumptive frontrunner in the governor’s race, California Dems could elect a (sort of) Angeleno for the first time in a generation. lamaterial.com/p/political-...

“Metro has always been like family to me here in LA.” Yes, that was none other than self-described Metro superfan @kennyuong.bsky.social introducing Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins. Flown in from Rhode Island, where he now lives. We miss you Kenny!

A Shohei impersonator charms Japanese fans at this Echo Park clubhouse. Inside this dugout-sized shop, among the caps and memorabilia, this store also offers an unusual portal to the Dodgers experience — specifically catered to visitors from Japan. lamaterial.com/p/a-dodgers-...

Podcasts have become Hollywood’s safest press stop. How stars decide who to talk to, how edits work, and the celeb podcast pecking order revealed. lamaterial.com/p/the-unwrit...

A very fun story from @amykinla.bsky.social !

My first story for L.A. Material is a behind-the-scenes account of the week that remade the L.A. mayoral race — how the city’s political class scrambled to marshal an alternative to Mayor Karen Bass, and ended up w a challenger no one saw coming. lamaterial.com/p/five-days-...

Is @austinforla.bsky.social preparing a run against L.A. Mayor Karen Bass in June 2026? It sure looks that way! @sherlyholmes.bsky.social & I break it down www.latimes.com/california/s...

Graffiti at night. Cleanup in the morning. The night-and-day difference of L.A. protests w/ @haileybranson.bsky.social @rebeccaellis.bsky.social & @sherlyholmes.bsky.social www.latimes.com/california/s...

“I wasn’t invited to press conferences either. People say, ‘Well, why aren’t you offended?’ Because I was too f— busy.” Steve Soboroff bows out as L.A. fire recovery czar, with some parting shots www.latimes.com/california/s... @sherlyholmes.bsky.social

A little news from me: At the urging of Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, the vast majority of California's Assembly Democrats are leaving X, citing concerns over misinformation, fake accounts, and racist, sexist and antisemitic posts on Elon Musk's platform. www.latimes.com/politics/sto...

Bass’ text messages from Jan. 7 and Jan. 8, during her last hours in Ghana and an anxious trip home, offer a vivid glimpse into how she handled a defining chapter in Los Angeles history from afar www.latimes.com/california/s...

Right-wing political figures have said that Democrats won more California House seats because of voter fraud -- and the Orange County GOP is pushing back: "It really hurts our cause." By @sherlyholmes.bsky.social: www.latimes.com/california/s...

Kamala Harris could make history as the first woman and person of color elected California governor. But she’d need to really want the job and couldn’t see it as a consolation prize or stepping stone back to the White House. George Skelton www.latimes.com/california/s...

Here's the latest on the Franklin fire burning in Malibu: 🔸 More than 2,200 acres have burned 🔸 Containment is currently at 0% 🔸 Over 2,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders Follow live coverage from my @latimes.com colleagues here: www.latimes.com/california/l...

If VP Kamala Harris decides to run for California governor, she would seismically reshape the race and cause ripple effects on down-ballot contests. … but it’s a big IF www.latimes.com/california/s...

And don't miss this exchange in the comments section: www.latimes.com/california/s...

"In politics, you always let the big dogs eat first." Will Kamala Harris run for California governor in 2026? 18 months out from the gubernatorial primary, @sherlyholmes.bsky.social looks at how Harris's decision could influence the race: www.latimes.com/california/s...

Newsom tries to redefine the California-vs.-Trump narrative: read the latest from Taryn Luna www.latimes.com/california/s...

As a parent I was alarmed that I hadn’t already known about the dangers of button batteries. If you have kids in your life — or if you’re shopping for them today — please read! www.latimes.com/california/s...

A much needed public service for those visiting relatives and watching a film together- turn these abominations off through the TV Menu. Thank You @instantsunrise.bsky.social ‬. you are a hero.