The World Series (and traffic) returns to L.A. Stay sharp!
Good morning. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.
- Will the World Series trigger a carmageddon in L.A.?
- Democrats in tight California House races back anti-crime measure opposed by Newsom.
- How a forgotten California border town became a hip hideaway — with hot springs and music.
- And here’s today’s e-newspaper.
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It’s a busy day for L.A. sports. Here’s what to know
The Fall Classic returns to Los Angeles this afternoon, even if fall weather hasn’t quite settled in.
The L.A. Dodgers face the New York Yankees in a classic World Series matchup. This will be the 12th time the Dodgers and Yankees battle for the major league championship.
Here’s what to know about the series’ impact and atmosphere in L.A. as the city hosts Games 1 and 2.
History in the making
It gives me no pleasure to note that the Yankees took 8 of the previous 11 series, though L.A. beat New York the last time they met in 1981. Times assistant sports editor Houston Mitchell dove into all that World Series history earlier this week.
Angelenos have been electrified this season with the arrival of Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Now two of the best hitters in baseball — Ohtani and Yankee Aaron Judge — will take the field as the two winningest teams in baseball play the best-of-seven series.
That presents baseball fans — and MLB — with a golden opportunity, Times sportswriter Bill Shaikin explained:
“Major League Baseball has a once-in-a-lifetime player in the World Series, a once-in-a-generation clash of the titans as the matchup, a blessed chance to reclaim at least some of the verity behind the phrase ‘national pastime.’”
And if you’re reading this and rooting for New York for some reason, The Times’ Christopher Reynolds offers some perspective in his recent unserious guide for Yankees fans in L.A.:
“You’re rooting for a fledgling team (founded 1901) whose home is a newfangled ballpark (opened 2009). We cheer for a more venerable institution (Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers’ first season: 1884) and cavort in a vintage 1962 stadium.”
Big games, bad traffic
Gridlock wasn’t an issue the last time the Dodgers appeared in — and won — the World Series.
That’s because the team played the Tampa Bay Rays in Texas, capping the weird, muted and pandemic-restricted 2020 season.
This time, motoring fans will create some serious traffic around Chavez Ravine and downtown L.A. as they head to the games — or to the scores of crowded bars and restaurants showing the games.
However (and this may come as a shock to L.A. drivers), you don’t have to use your car to crawl in soul-sucking traffic and pay an inflated postseason parking rate to get to the ballpark.
For World Series-goers, L.A. Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express ferries fans up to the ballpark from both Union Station and Harbor Gateway Transit Center. The reduced-emission buses breeze by car traffic on Sunset Boulevard thanks to their own dedicated lane. The service also runs after the game.
Early this season, the buses were averaging about 1,500 trips (measured one way) per game, according to Sandra Solis, L.A. Metro’s senior director of operations support. Ridership began to increase as the season continued, reaching roughly 2,500 one-way trips for last week’s league championship series.
“There’s more (riders) already,” Solis told me. “And we’re anticipating even larger numbers for the World Series.”
One reason for that, said George Del Valles, a transportation planning manager for Metro: earlier postseason start times, since stations don’t want to broadcast games too late for East Coast fans.
“It gives people a little bit more leeway in arranging their transportation plans to use public transportation because they don’t have to worry about maybe some services being unavailable as late in the evening as they would be during the regular season,” he said.
Compare a few bucks for transit fare (and/or $8 to park at Union Station) with the ballpark’s October parking rates. The Dodgers are charging $70 for a spot, per MLB’s website, but that price goes up if you wait to buy at the gates. Meanwhile spots are selling for $100 and more on StubHub.
And as my colleague Karen Garcia points out in her recent guide, there are other car-free options to avoid traffic tie-ups.
You could bike to the ballpark. Sure, the uphill trek is a challenge if you’re tackling it solely with pedal power, but it would be a breeze for anyone with an e-bike. And you’d enjoy the added perk of locking up your ride just steps away from the stadium’s entrances, as seen in this map. That is much closer than car-driving fans or even Dodger players and staff get to park (unless you’re Bob Geren).
You could also walk. Seriously.
“They say nobody walks in L.A. but you can prove them wrong by making the 25-to-30-minute stroll to the stadium from the Metro’s Chinatown Station,” Karen noted.
El Toro’s legacy looms large
Dodger fans have been celebrating and getting hyped for the championship series — but they’re also mourning after the passing of Fernando Valenzuela this week. The legendary Mexico-born pitcher died Tuesday at age 63.
“El Toro” transformed the Dodgers fan base to better reflect the city’s Latino roots and culture, mending the team’s relationship with a community wounded by the forced evictions of residents who were displaced in order to build Dodger Stadium.
“Valenzuela’s impact endured for so long and so powerfully that the Dodgers retired his jersey number in 2023 despite a long-standing rule that the team only did so for those who were in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman wrote in this week’s obituary.
Tributes from fans have appeared across L.A. and the internet, including a mural taking shape in Mariachi Plaza, set to be unveiled Nov. 1. L.A. Metro dubbed its Dodger Stadium Express buses as Line 34, Valenzuela’s jersey number.
The World Series isn’t the only game in town Friday
The Lakers are playing at Crypto.com Arena at 7 p.m. USC’s football team is playing at the Coliseum at 8 p.m. There are also several high school football games happening Friday, including the East L.A. Classic between Garfield and Roosevelt high schools at SoFi Stadium.
In response, Metro is running more frequent service on its A, B, D and E (Expo) rail lines.
Pro tips: Metro’s A and E lines stop at Pico Station, a few minutes’ walking distance to Crytpo.com Arena and L.A. Live. For Coliseum-goers, the E Line has two stops near the stadium.
Go Dodgers and good luck out there!
Today’s top stories
On the campaign trail
- Democrats in tight California House races are backing an anti-crime measure opposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
- Early voting is surging across the country, but it’s unclear who benefits.
- With immigration a key issue in the election, The Times examined why few employers use a federal program to identify unauthorized immigrants seeking jobs.
- Beyoncé is scheduled to appear with Vice President Kamala Harris in Houston on Friday.
The Menendez brothers may have a path to freedom
- Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón will ask a judge to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez, who are serving life terms for killing their parents in 1989.
- The case has reemerged in the public spotlight thanks in part to new evidence and a Netflix series.
- Gascón’s decision also comes as he struggles to win reelection against former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman.
What should L.A. do about homelessness? Renters and homeowners answer differently, a poll found
- Renters in Los Angeles County were more likely to support rent control, affordable housing construction and the use of housing vouchers in their own neighborhoods than homeowners, according to a new USC survey.
- Renters are a majority in L.A. County, according to U.S. census data, yet homeowner preferences often dominate political debates over housing.
LAX is finally getting a long-awaited rail connection
- An Automated People Mover train is expected to open in January 2026 and will connect LAX to the Metro rail system from the K Line and the C Line.
- City and transit leaders have long debated how to link Metro to the airport, but the situation became more urgent in recent years as the horseshoe of LAX became ever more choked with traffic.
What else is going on
- California Republicans in Congress are seeking to delay new policies from state regulators that could raise gasoline prices.
- The L.A. teachers union supports blocking the U.S. sale of about $20 billion in weaponry to Israel.
- Farm pesticides were found floating in California air samples, but state officials say it’s OK.
- An L.A. judge freed a former DEA agent accused of road rage, domestic violence and having grenades.
- As the Palos Verdes Peninsula land movement slows, 28 homes will get power back — with 250 to go.
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Commentary and opinions
- This week in the election was like no other, with Hitler-splaining, F-bombs and fake headlines, news and culture critic Lorraine Ali writes.
- Elon Musk’s voter lottery looks illegal. Too bad he’ll probably get away with it, writes Harry Litman, host of the “Talking Feds” podcast.
- These red states say teens should be forced to have babies so the states don’t lose congressional seats, columnist Michael Hiltzik writes.
- It’s time to tell the truth about how immigration affects the U.S. economy, argues Christopher Tang, a university distinguished professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
This morning’s must reads
She loves the Yankees. He loves the Dodgers. Can these couples survive the World Series? It’s a battle playing out in bedrooms and living rooms in New York and Los Angeles. With so many residents of the country’s two biggest cities moving back and forth from coast to coast, it might be the most common mixed couple combination for the World Series.
Other must reads
- $1.80 dinners and budget clothes? The spread of frugality is hurting China’s economy.
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
For your downtime
Going out
- 🌅 A forgotten California border town has transformed into a hip hideaway — with hot springs and music.
- 🦛 From Moo Deng to Raygun, the rise of the meme-inspired Halloween costume shows the endless adaptability of the holiday itself.
- 🪵 This L.A. artist turns wood scraps from guitars into midcentury-inspired art.
- 🎥 Director Steve McQueen’s complicated relationship with Britain informs his latest film, “Blitz,” which follows a mixed-race boy during the bombing of London.
- 🎼 Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA announced a free L.A. show for his classical album, “A Ballet Through Mud.”
Staying in
- 📺 Billy Crystal takes a dramatic turn in an Apple TV+ thriller that’s reminiscent of “The Sixth Sense.”
- 💻 A new documentary on Hulu tells the strange story of how the twin-sister pop duo Tegan and Sara got catfished.
- 🌾 “Somebody Somewhere” changed Jeff Hiller’s life. He says he’s grateful, even as the show comes to an end.
- 🧑🍳 Here’s a recipe for capirotada tropical (bread pudding with guava and apricots).
- ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.
A question for you: What’s something that recently made you smile?
Heather Taft writes: “Watching my son win the cannonball competition at his swim meet! Big splash!”
And finally ... your photo of the day
Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Brian van der Brug. Many workers in Eastern Sierra are living in vans amid a housing crunch. Yet the area is full of wide-open spaces. Government agencies own more than 90% of the land and have little interest in making housing available for tourists or the workers who serve them.
Show us your favorite place in California! Send us photos you have taken of spots in California that are special — natural or human-made — and tell us why they’re important to you.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Ryan Fonseca, reporter
Defne Karabatur, fellow
Andrew Campa, Sunday reporter
Hunter Clauss, multiplatform editor
Christian Orozco, assistant editor
Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
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