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Brady Bunch House Declared Official Historical Los Angeles Landmark 

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The legacy of the classic TV show “The Brady Bunch” is continuing to live on, as the Los Angeles City Council voted to designate the famous house from the sitcom as a historic-cultural monument. The Studio City Midcentury property is now officially a piece of the city’s history. 

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“Long before it became a pop‑culture pilgrimage site and backdrop for countless photo ops, the Brady Bunch House helped shape America’s vision of family life in the late 1960s and early ’70s — especially the idea of a blended family,” said Adrian Scott Fine, president of the L.A. Conservancy. 

“We’re thrilled to see it now designated as a Historic-Cultural Monument, ensuring the Brady Bunch — and their iconic home — remain part of Los Angeles’ story.”

The Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission unanimously voted to recommend the house as a landmark on January 15th. The Planning and Land Use Commission then approved the designation a month later, and sent the final decision to the City Council, according to the LA Times. 

“I look forward to seeing this memorialized in the appropriate way as part of San Fernando Valley television history,” Council member Adrin Nazarian said.

The landmark status protects the home, located at 11222 Dilling Street in Studio City, from demolition. If the owner ever wants to destroy the home, the Cultural Heritage Commission can delay the process for up to a year in order to find preservation solutions. 

The commission also will now be more heavily involved when it comes to making alterations to the property. 

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“The Brady Bunch” was actually filmed entirely in a studio, with the Studio City home working just for the exterior shots. However, its legacy was almost immediately cemented through the iconic sitcom’s popularity. 

Initially built in 1959 by architect Harry M. Londelius, the home is the perfect symbol for Southern California’s suburban, single-family charm. 

The home was owned by Violet and George McCallister for decades. The couple bought it for $61,000 in 1973, and when they passed away, their children sold it for $3.5 million in 2018. The major increase in sale price was due to an intense bidding war for the property, in which HGTV came out as the winner. 

The channel then announced a $1.9 million remodel to recreate the interiors exactly as they appeared in the show. The entire process was documented and premiered as a four-part miniseries called “A Very Brady Renovation.”

The end result was a near exact replica of the Brady home, including a floating staircase, orange kitchen counters, and so much more. The crew also added 2,000 square feet to the back of the home to make room for the bedrooms, and added a second story which is hidden from the street by lowering the foundation a foot, LA Times reports. 

Now, the home and show will live on in its legacy as a historical monument.

ice

Apple and Google Remove Apps That Track ICE Agents After Federal Pressure

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What began as a niche tool for community safety has erupted into a national flashpoint over technology, free speech, and government power. Apple and Google have pulled a series of apps that crowdsource sightings of U.S. immigration enforcement officers, sparking outrage from developers, civil rights advocates, and immigration organizations that say the move represents corporate capitulation to the Trump administration’s political agenda.

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Los Angeles Planning To Host The Most Sustainable Olympics Yet For 2028 Summer Games

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Los Angeles, California will be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympic Games. In the most recent Summer Games, hosted in Paris, there were major strides made in sustainability and protecting the environment while holding the world’s most anticipated athletic competition. 

Throughout the Paris Olympics, the total CO2 emissions equated to 1.59 million tons, which is less than half of the average emissions at both the London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016 Games, according to reports from Forbes Magazine. 

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Becky Dale, the Vice President of Sustainability for Los Angeles 2028 said that they’re ready and willing to try to become even more green than the Paris Games, which have become the new standard for sustainability. 

“It’s the great thing about the sports industry: everyone wants to win, including sustainability. Every time you host, you want to up the ante.”

Dale cited the 2028 Game’s Impact and Sustainability Plan, which outlines how the city is committed to reducing waste, utilizing materials that can be put back into the community. 

Nurit Katz, UCLA’s Chief Sustainability Officer, collaborated with Dale to give a presentation on how they plan on making the Games greener than ever. The two presented the plan at the Energy Innovation Conference at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. 

LA 2028 also released an Impact and Sustainability Plan, “a structured document laying out how organizers plan to maximize the Olympic’s sustainability potential,” Blythe Lawrence for Forbes wrote.

One of the biggest aspects of this plan is that LA is not planning to build any new venues for hosting the event. This is major because the last time the Olympics took place without any new construction being built beforehand was London in 1948. 

The sustainability plan wrote: “[LA was] built for large, live-scale events, from the Grammys and the Academy Awards to the FIFA World Cup and the Super Bowl. With the region’s abundance of existing world-class stadiums and arenas ready to host the Games today, athletes at the 2028 Games will have access to exceptional fields of play and fans will enjoy unbeatable spectating.” 

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This automatically sets LA up for being much greener than previous Olympic Games. Not only will there be a reduction of carbon emissions from the lack of construction, but it entails that every competition venue will take place within a 35-mile radius of downtown LA, so transport around from the Olympic village to each venue won’t take as much energy/emissions. 

Dale went on to explain that almost all of the materials used for the Games will be reused in some way after the Olympics are over. 

“The target is to have 90% of materials used for temporary infrastructure reused or recycled. LA will rely on a combination of rentals, buybacks, and donations to ensure reuse of as much material as possible,” she stated. 

The plan also noted that the electricity used to power venues will be fully renewable by using the grid to reduce the Games’s carbon emissions. 

Dale stated that the organizers will be enhancing public transit to motivate fans to to take it from one venue to another. 

“Our big challenge is how do we make public transportation the most attractive option for people coming to the Games? Ultimately people are creatures of free will, but there are ways to create incentives and smooth the path so we can make it a more desirable option,” she said. 

Katz also discussed at the conference that the Olympics going green doesn’t necessarily mean that the planning and implementation of the new sustainable measures will be more expensive than the average cost of putting on the Games. 

“There’s very much a myth that going green or being sustainable always has to cost more. Some of our initiatives, especially around energy efficiency or around reducing waste, really have operational savings.”

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The White House Announces Taskforce For 2028 Los Angeles Olympics 

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The White House will be creating a task force led by president Donald Trump to oversee the 2028 Olympics taking place in Los Angeles, California. The president signed an executive order to establish the task force to include JD Vance, cabinet members, and other government officials.

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According to the White House, Trump will be the chair of the task force with Vance as the vice-chair. An executive director will also oversee “daily operations.” 

“The LA Olympics is shaping up to be a wonderful moment for America. It’s going to be incredible,” the president stated. 

Los Angeles is heavily preparing for the Summer Games in three years, as the event is expected to bring in millions of people over the course of 16 days. 

The United States has hosted the Olympics eight times throughout the entire Games’ history; four times for the Summer Games and four times for the Winter Games. The last time the nation hosted the Games, however, was in 2002 for the Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and the last time the US hosted the Summer Games was in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Los Angeles has been planning for the 2028 Games for years. The Los Angeles Times reported that the city has been involved in “high stakes” negotiations with the committee managing the event, LA28, over the use of city staff and police officers. 

A proposed ballot measure is also setting out to require some Olympic venues to receive approval from voters to be used. 

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LA is also working hard to combat the devastating wildfires that massively impacted the area in the beginning of the year. Recovery efforts are still ongoing and using a lot of finances for the city, creating new challenges when it comes to planning the Games. 

Additionally, LA has also been clashing with Trump and his administration over the intense immigration raids throughout the city, as well as the deployment of US troops in the city, despite multiple objections from city and state leaders. 

LA mayor Karen Bass has said that despite these troubles, the city will be ready to host the Olympics by the time 2028 rolls around, and former International Olympic Committee president, Thomas Bach, said that LA is a “strong city” with support from the US. 

“With regard to LA, we have the full support of the president of the United States and the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles for the success of these Olympic Games,” Bach told the Associated Press earlier this summer. 

The White House task force will be responsible for streamlining “visa processing and credentialing” for participants and media, according to a statement. The order will also direct various government departments like the FBI and the Secret Service to “use every tool at their disposal” for a safe Olympics.

ice

Los Angeles Dodgers Deny ICE Agents Entry Into Stadium 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers said this week that they denied US Immigration Enforcement (ICE) Agents access into the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium. 

“This morning, ICE agents came to Dodger Stadium and requested permission to access the parking lots,” the team posted to their social media. 

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“They were denied entry to the grounds by the organization. Tonight’s game will be played as scheduled.”

Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said that ICE agents “were never there. This had nothing to do with the Dodgers. CBP vehicles were in the stadium parking lot very briefly, unrelated to any operation or enforcement.”

Immigrant communities in Los Angeles have been on high alert as of late as homeland security and ICE agents have begun raiding workplaces, public parking lots, and more as they search for undocumented individuals. 

Since LA has been such a major target as of late, Dodgers stadium began responding to rumors of raids as the team has a large Latino fanbase, which could make them a potential target. 

Several local LA journalists this week have observed and reported dozens of DHS vehicles with masked officers near the stadium, and the agents refused to comment on why they were there when asked by a Los Angeles Times reporter. 

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One source told the LA Times reporter that the federal agents were meeting near the stadium for a briefing and left once they noticed an increased presence of reporters and photographers that were immediately posting the meetings on social media. 

“Ice agents are taking up positions at the entrances to Dodger Stadium, media and crowd beginning to arrive,” Kevin Takumi, a videographer and photographer for Fox’s Los Angeles affiliate, wrote. Takumi posted a video online showing several vans and SUVs.

Jack Harris, the Dodgers beat writer for the Los Angeles Times, said: “Regarding the photos going around on social media this morning about ICE agents at Dodger Stadium: sources say ICE agents tried to access Dodger Stadium today, but were denied entry to the grounds by the team.”

“Ice agents attempted to access Dodger Stadium this morning but were denied by the Dodgers. Images had circulated this morning of agents appearing to use the parking lots as a staging area,” Fabian Ardaya, a journalist who covers the Dodgers for The Athletic, wrote.

Eunisses Hernandez, an LA city council member, said: “We’ve been in communication with the mayor’s office, with the Dodgers, with Dodgers security, about seeing if they can get them moved off their private property.”

“Public property is different. Private property – businesses and corporations have the power to say, ‘Not on my property’. And so we’re waiting to see that movement happen here.”

OLYMPICS

Simone Biles May Not Compete At 2028 Los Angeles Olympics 

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Simone Biles recently gave an interview with French sports daily L’Equipe where she said she was unsure about her future in the Olympics. The next Summer Olympics will occur in 2028 and take place in Los Angeles, California. 

The 28-year-old has had a long and highly decorated career, and discussed how she’s very mindful over the demand that gymnastics puts on her body. Biles will be 31 when the LA Olympics begin, and while 31 is young, in the realm of professional gymnastics it’s an age where most gymnasts have already retired. 

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The oldest all-around female gymnastics champion is Maria Gorokhovskaya, who won the gold at the 1952 Olympics when she was 30-years-old. 

“I’m really trying to enjoy life, to spend time with my husband, go support him at his games, live my life as a woman,” she said, referring to her partner NFL player Jonathan Owens.

 “I’ve accomplished so much in my sport. For me to come back, it would really have to excite me.”

Biles is the most decorated gymnast of all time, and in order to have earned that title, she had to work on a level most of us can’t fathom. She discussed how a lot of the times fans underestimate the amount of preparation it takes to compete in the Olympics. 

“A lot of people think it’s just a one-year commitment but it truly is the four years leading up to the Olympics. It’s in LA, it’s back in the States, which is so exciting. But if I’m going to compete again, I’m not so sure,” she said.

Regardless of if Biles will compete or not, she’s fully planning on attending the 2028 Games. “Whether on the [gymnastics] apparatus or in the stands, I still don’t know that, but 2028 seems so far away, and my body is aging. I felt it in Paris.” 

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At the most recent Summer Olympics in Paris, Biles won three gold medals and a silver. Overall, the iconic gymnast has earned seven Olympic gold medals and 11 overall. A feat like that is incredible, however, Biles emphasized the toll that took on her body and mind. 

“I went back to the [Olympic] village, I took the elevator and my body literally collapsed. I was sick for 10 days. The other day, we were sprinting in the garden with friends, I had aches and pains for three days. So, I honestly don’t know. We’ll see,” she explained. 

Biles then spoke on the future of gymnastics as a whole and praised her rival Rebeca Andrade from Brazil. Andrade has torn her ACL three times throughout her career, but managed to recover and continue to compete in the sport and earn medals. Biles said Andrade would push her beyond her limits, and now she doesn’t think the world of gymnastics necessarily needs both of them. 

“It only needs one of us, no? Especially since [Andrade] will not be alone. A young generation will knock at the door and everything will start again,” Biles said. 

Biles was speaking to L’Equipe ahead of the Laureus Awards in Madrid, where she was once again honored with the Sportswoman of the Year award. Whatever the future holds for Biles’ career in gymnastics, it’s safe to say her legacy is set in stone. 

“I am very proud of the work accomplished to reach this point, and I will continue to be the voice of the voiceless.”

wildfires

Los Angeles Rental Listing Sites Are Combatting Price Gouging From Renters Amid Destructive Wildfires 

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“If you’re one of these people who have engaged in price gouging, not only do you need to stop it immediately, I would strongly recommend that you go back and fix it, go back and refund the amount that you have overcharged people.”

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California Democrats Reach $50M Deal to ‘Insulate’ State from Incoming Trump Administration

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California Democrats have authorized $50 million of state funding to strengthen state and local legal defenses in preparation for the forthcoming Trump administration. The first-ever special session agreement solidifies California’s position as a frontrunner in opposing Trump’s incoming presidency.

The agreement allocates $25 million to the state Department of Justice to support future legal actions against the federal government in court, a move initially proposed by California Governor Gavin Newsom following President-elect Donald Trump’s reelection in November. The other half of the allocated funds will be directed toward providing defense for immigrants facing mass deportation efforts, detention, and wage theft.

“This funding agreement cements California’s readiness to serve as a bulwark against Trump’s extremist agenda,” said Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener in a statement.

“During the last Trump Administration, California successfully defended reproductive freedoms, attacks on our immigrant communities, LGBTQ civil rights, and threats to our environment, from the unlawful assault launched by the Trump Administration.”

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Republicans have pushed for a special session focused primarily on the response to the wildfires. Gov. Newsom said on “Pod Save America” over the weekend that he is “happy to do whatever moves the needle forward.”

Gov. Newsom and other Los Angeles legislators have been in Southern California since the fires started intensifying. Nonetheless, GOP leaders have been criticizing the lawmakers. Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher said in a statement that the financial move detracted from the wildfire response.

“At a time when California should be laser-focused on responding to the devastating wildfires in LA, Democrat lawmakers’ priority is creating a $50 million slush fund to hire government lawyers for hypothetical fights against the federal government and to defend criminal illegal immigrants from being returned to their home countries.”

Wiener stated that Californians are grappling with two “massive challenges.” The first deals with overcoming the devastation from the “horrific destructive wildfires in Los Angeles.” The second is “an incoming federal administration that has vowed to make it harder for Los Angeles to recover by withholding disaster relief and deporting immigrant Angelenos who have been impacted by the fires and who are actively helping their neighbors.”

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“National MAGA Republicans wasted no time politicizing the horrific tragedy unfolding in Los Angeles. As the fires burned, the president-elect, his allies, and senior congressional Republican officials proposed withholding California’s disaster aid and imposing unprecedented conditions on this humanitarian relief. They also spread absurd conspiracy theories about the fires.”

Trump has promised to implement mass deportations once he enters office on Jan 20th, which has increased the urgency of the package’s immigration provisions. According to the Los Angeles Times, border patrol officials recently carried out what they claim was the biggest enforcement operation in the Central Valley in years.

Wiener shared how a good portion of the funds will be given to legal nonprofits and immigration support centers to carry out the agreement’s initiatives.

“Senate Democrats are particularly proud to provide funding for providers of legal aid services, which know our communities’ needs best and are best positioned to defend at scale the millions of individuals and families that will be impacted by the incoming Administration’s extreme agenda.”

Firefighters Battle Los Angeles Wildfires Amid Devastation and Destruction

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Firefighters are engaged in a fierce struggle to contain five wildfires that have erupted in the Los Angeles Area. These devastating blazes have wreaked havoc on communities stretching from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena, prompting the evacuation of more than 180,000 residents from their homes.

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Los Angeles Is Aiming For A ‘No-Car’ Olympics For 2028 Games

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The mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has pledged to make the 2028 Olympic Games car-free, an announcement that has many Californians curious as to how it will be pulled off in a city known for its public transit and gridlock traffic.

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