Olympic organizing committee adds more Los Angeles venues, competitions to 2028 Games

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, July 14. I’m your host, Andrew J. Campa. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• Several Los Angeles venues were announced for the 2028 Games.
• More on the Trump assassination attempt
• Californians buy big in cheap, remote areas.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper.

City of Los Angeles placed squarely at center of 2028 Olympics

Though the 2024 Paris Olympics start in less than two weeks, local excitement has been building as the LA28 organizing committee has announced the venues hosting events for the upcoming 2028 Los Angeles Games.

Los Angeles will be home to eight of the 19 events disclosed Friday, followed by Long Beach (seven) and Carson (four).

“We’re very proud to bring the Games to many of our vibrant and diverse communities,” LA28 chief athlete officer Janet Evans said in a statement. “The venues in these cities are world-class.”

The venues for other premier events were announced in June, and included selections such as The Coliseum for track and field and the former Staples Center, now called the Crypto.com Arena, for gymnastics. There was also a switch to move swimming into SoFi Stadium and some controversy over hosting softball nearly 1,400 miles east in Oklahoma City.

Not enough love for Los Angeles?

There was some concern prior to Friday’s announcements that the Los Angeles Olympics wasn’t LA enough, with venues in Inglewood and surrounding communities picked to host a slew of competitions.

“I’m just going to say it because it’s true: We aren’t getting enough events,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, whose district includes Sylmar, Pacoima and North Hills.

The latest announcement spread more competitions around Los Angeles.

(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

Riviera County Club will host golf

Riviera in Pacific Palisades was an obvious choice for golf, having hosted the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.

It also has international appeal perhaps best summed up by Japanese golfer Hideki Matsuyama. The former Masters champion shot a sizzling 62 to capture the Genesis Invitational hosted at Riviera in February.

“To win here at Riviera was one of my goals since I became a pro, and after Tiger Woods became the host that goal became a lot bigger,” Matsuyama said. “ The owner [Noboru Watanabe] is Japanese and I’ve known him a long time. I’m disappointed I couldn’t take a picture with Tiger today.”

The Riviera’s selection for the Olympics marks the second straight summer of big news for the country club. In June 2023, Riviera was picked to host the 2031 U.S. Open.

(LA28)

Downtown Figueroa Corridor to host another seven events

In June, the organizing committee selected the Crypto.com arena to host gymnastics.

An additional seven events will take place within biking distance of the arena.

Fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo and wrestling are slated for the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Weightlifting will be held at the Peacock Theater in L.A. Live, and badminton will be a few miles down Figueroa Boulevard at USC’s Galen Center.

More venues within city limits are expected to be announced in the months ahead.

“The city of Los Angeles will host more Olympic sports than anywhere else,” said Evans, a four-time gold medalist in swimming.

For more information on the events and venues, check out reporter David Wharton’s article on the most recent Games selections.

The week’s biggest stories

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

(Gene J. Puskar/AP)

Trump assassination attempt

• The shooting is a historic moment echoing past political violence in America.
• How could a gunman get close enough to nearly assassinate a former president?
• Attendees describe chaotic scene as shots rang out at Pennsylvania rally.
• California leaders condemned the apparent assassination attempt at campaign rally.

Crime, courts and policing

• LAPD chief candidate field narrows to about 10, a mix of outsiders and insiders.
• Former Inglewood teacher linked by DNA to cold-case killing is convicted of murder, kidnapping.
• Copper-wire thieves plunge L.A. neighborhood into darkness.
• Baby girl dies after boating in Lake Havasu on 120-degree day; investigation launched.
• 3-year-old dies after suspected drug overdose, twin in grave condition; mother arrested.
• Jenni Rivera’s and Selena Quintanilla’s Hollywood Walk of Fame stars vandalized twice in 24 hours.
• Former top LAPD official found guilty of tracking a fellow officer with AirTag.
• DWP union sues city of L.A. over pension double-dipping.

Weather, Fires and Environment

• First wildfire death of 2024 season reported as California heat wave continues.
• ‘A fire year’: California wildfires have burned more than 20 times as much land as by this time last year.
• Danger signs were present before Palos Verdes landslide destroyed homes, new study finds.
• Heat waves are growing hotter and more prolonged. What’s driving extreme temperatures?
• Vista fire scorches more than 2,700 acres in San Bernardino National Forest.
• California farmers set to cut use of Colorado River water, temporarily leaving fields dry.
• How Death Valley National Park tries to keep visitors alive amid record heat.

Entertainment News

• Judge dismisses Alec Baldwin involuntary manslaughter case for ‘Rust’ shooting.
• Rebel Wilson sued for defamation by producers from ‘The Deb’ after actor called them out.
• Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher are married after nearly six-year engagement.
• Weston Cage, son of Nicolas Cage, accused of attacking mother.
• The battle to save Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch from destructive Lake fire.

Pets and Wildlife

• Olvera Street’s donkey may be forced to hit the road after eviction.
• Chatsworth bear may pave the way for new wildlife crossings.
• O.C. mosquito samples are West Nile-positive; that’s not the only danger pesky bloodsuckers pose.
• Editorial: Good fences make for safer mountain lions.
• Rare toad raised in San Francisco relocates to Yosemite National Park.
• He reported a possible H5N1 outbreak in dairy cows. It took officials weeks to respond.

Housing

• A stalled mixed-use development turns into West Hollywood’s newest lake.
• Column: Reparations for Chavez Ravine families? Not so fast, say some descendants
• Why Leo Pustilnikov is buying 1,500 Skid Row apartments and wants to build thousands more.
• L.A. officials continue to stall homeless housing project in Venice, new lawsuit claims.

Transportation

• ‘It’s bold’: L.A. moves to close Wilshire Boulevard through MacArthur Park.
• 3 injured at San Francisco airport after American Airlines plane fills with smoke.
• Feds pump $2 billion into boosting U.S.-based EV manufacturing.

More big stories

• Michelin adds six L.A. restaurants to its California guide. Look for the coveted stars next month.
• Why Alexander the Great really was better than the average imperialist conqueror.
• Opinion: What’s behind the AI boom? Exploited humans.
• On cusp of bankruptcy, Mod Pizza chain is bought by L.A. company.
• Looking for good vibes in L.A.? 22 readers share their ‘happy place.’
• Commentary: Alice Munro was no better than the miserable women she wrote about.
• Watching ‘The Bear’? Here’s where to find a taste of Chicago around L.A.
• Latinx Files: De Los turns 1.
• Inside the Chargers’ lavish new practice facility in El Segundo.
• Cal Poly Humboldt president to step down months after campus crackdowns.

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Column One

Column One is The Times’ home for narrative and longform journalism. Here’s a great piece from this week:

(Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty)

In late June, as a group of mountaineers descended a treacherous glacier high in the Peruvian Andes, they spotted a dark, out-of-place lump resting on the blinding white snow. When they approached, they realized it wasn’t a rock, as they had initially assumed. It was a corpse.

More great reads

• The members of Congress pushing Biden to step aside are nearly all white. Reasons for a racial divide.
• As inmates swelter, California prisons remain unprepared for extreme heat.
• Dry cleaner struggles to survive in empty downtown L.A. skyscraper. Welcome to the zombie economy.
• Olympics give LeBron James another chance to show his Midas touch.
• Film and TV crews protest long hours, overnight shifts. ‘We are dying to entertain people.’

How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.

For your weekend

(Illustration by Lindsey Made This; photo from Tyrell Redd)

Going out

• 🍩 Join actress and comedian Lisa Ann Walter as she watches football and enjoys Randy’s on her “Best Sunday.”
• 🛍️ From the Original Farmer’s Market to Will Rogers State Park, 22 readers share their “Happy Place.”
• 🦢 Filipino heritage takes center stage at the 43rd annual Lotus Festival at Echo Park Lake, beginning at noon.

Staying in

• 📖 Author Ruby Todd’s debut novel looks to the heavens and to the Heaven’s Gate cult.
• 👑 Crime comedy “Tulsa King,” staring Rocky’s Sylvester Stallone, makes it broadcast premiere on CBS at 8 p.m.
• ⚾ Harvard-Westlake’s Bryce Rainer will be picked quickly at the Major League Baseball draft on ESPN at 3 p.m.
• 🧑‍🍳 Happy National Mac and Cheese Day! Here’s a quick and tasty recipe for the melty dream dish.
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, Sudoku, word search and arcade games.

L.A. Affairs

Get wrapped up in tantalizing stories about dating, relationships and marriage.

(Ezgi Arslan / For The Times)

I’m walking home when a man, who’s graying and handsome, stops me. “Excuse me,” he says. “You’re gorgeous.” I’m not hallucinating. The fairy tale has come true; my prince has arrived. It’s the giddy 12-year-old in me who says thank you. It’s also the current me, with all the weight of my 49 years, who gives him my number and tells him to text me by Wednesday so we can have dinner on Friday.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Phil Willon, assistant news editor

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