The first LGBTQ+Ñ Literary Festival in Spanish – the first of its kind – will kick-off six days of panels, short film screenings, book signings, performances and a photo exhibit starting today, at different locations across Los Angeles. 

The LGBTQ+Ñ Literary Festival will bring together Spanish-speaking and Latin American writers who explore and celebrate a variety of themes in their work, including sexual diversity and perspectives on identity. 

“Feminist culture and LGBTQ+ culture have been the movements that have most transformed modern societies in recent decades, and therefore deserve special attention,” said Luisgé Martín, director of Instituto Cervantes of Los Ángeles. “There was no stable forum that brought together creators from across the Spanish-speaking world, which is why we have organized this literary festival. It aims to serve as a framework for reflection and a meeting point for LGBTQ+ writers.” 

The festival will bring together authors, readers, academics and activists, to discuss their experiences and share perspectives about the LGBTQ+ community and its academic intersections. 

The first stop for the literary festival is at the Instituto Cervantes of Los Ángeles, from 7 PM to 9 PM on Tuesday, to screen short films that are part of FanCineQueer. 

The festival will feature authors like Myriam Gurba Serrano, Alejandro Córdova “Taylor”, Felipe J. Garcia, Boris Izaguirre, Nando López, María Mínguez Arias, Felipe Restrepo Pombo, Claudia Salazar Jiménez, Pablo Simonetti, and Gabriela Wiener. 

There will also be a photo exhibit and featured photographers such as Gonza Gallego and Liliana Hueso. 

The festival will take place at multiple venues including the Instituto Cervantes of Los Ángeles, The Student Union at Los Angeles City College and Circus of Books. 

For more information on the event visit the Instagram page for Instituto Cervantes of Los Ángeles. 

The Latino Equality Alliance hosted its annual fundraiser on Saturday at Del Records in Bell Gardens as their quinceañera-themed Purple Lily Awards raises nearly $100,000 to create safe spaces for Latin American LGBTQ+ youth and their families. 

This year, LEA honored co-founder Gutiérrez Arámbula, RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 Contestant, Salina Estitties, and the Liberty Hill Foundation. 

“The Latino Equality Alliance’s history and survival underscores the importance of providing critical resources and positive support for LGBTQ+ youth struggling to find a safe space,” said founder and executive director Eddie Martinez. “We are proud to have stood shoulder to shoulder with the Latinx community for 15 years and are excited about the promising future ahead of us.”

LEA’s mission with this event, is also to bring attention to Proposition 3 – which puts same-sex marriage on the November ballot. 

Proposition 3 seeks to reaffirm the right to same-sex marriage. 

This proposition shines light on the California Constitution that still to this day upholds language that does not include gender non-conforming people or queer and trans people in the protections for marriage equality. 

The CA Constitution says ‘only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,’ which also only upholds protections and recognition for same-race couples, excluding interracial families, as well as LGBTQ+ families. 

That language — while still on the books — is effectively void after the U.S. Supreme Court in 2013 allowed same-sex marriage to resume in California, and the high court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in a historic 2015 decision. 

Upholding protections for marriage equality is important to LEA because California has the largest LGBTQ+ population in the United States. 

The grassroots organization is celebrating continued growth in their progress toward equality and celebrating the achievements of the Latin American community members that are at the forefront of creating safe spaces in Boyle Heights and beyond. 

LEA was the first community and school LGBTQ youth civic policy advocacy and empowerment program to lower dropout rates, bullying and increase graduation rates.

The City of West Hollywood has officially announced the dates for WeHo Pride Weekend 2025, following a prestigious Emmy Award win for the 2024 event coverage. The upcoming celebration is scheduled to take place from Friday, May 30 to Sunday, June 1, 2025, centered around West Hollywood Park at 647 N. San Vicente Blvd.

KTLA5 recently won an Emmy Award in the category of Live Special Events — News Coverage for their broadcast of the WeHo Pride Parade. The award was presented by actress Marlee Matlin at the 76th LA Area Emmy Awards ceremony. This recognition highlights the growing significance and visibility of WeHo Pride on a regional scale.

Executive Producers Marcus Smith, Wendy Burch, and Jacob Burch accepted the award with the KTLA5 team. In his acceptance speech, Jacob Burch emphasized the importance of LGBTQ representation and authenticity, stating, “To win this for something that celebrates being your true authentic self unapologetically with pride is just the sweetest serendipity and proves that it does get better.”

Jeff Consoletti, founder and CEO of JJLA, the production company that designs and executes WeHo Pride is pictured here hold the Emmy with KTLA Executive Producer Marcus Smith. (Photo courtesy of Consoletti’s Instagram account)

Key events planned for WeHo Pride Weekend 2025 include:

1. Free Friday Night at OUTLOUD
2. Street Fair
3. Women’s Freedom Festival
4. Annual Dyke March
5. WeHo Pride Parade
6. OUTLOUD at WeHo Pride music festival

Detailed information about WeHo Pride Weekend 2025 and the accompanying WeHo Pride Arts Festival will be released in the coming months. Updates will be posted on www.wehopride.com. Interested parties can also follow @wehopride on Instagram and Facebook for the latest information.

WeHo is a city of outsized influence. It enjoys worldwide recognition and is home to the “Rainbow District” along Santa Monica Boulevard, known for a robust LGBTQ community, its LGBTQ clubs, restaurants, and shops.

• Over 40% of West Hollywood residents identify as LGBTQ.
• Four out of five West Hollywood City Council members are openly LGBTQ.
• Pride events have been held in the area since 1979, predating the city’s incorporation.
• The city is diverse, with the largest ethnic groups being white (non-Hispanic) (70.3 percent), Two+ (Non-Hispanic) (6.35 percent), and white (Hispanic) (5.31 percent.)
• 91.9 percent of residents are U.S. citizens.
• The average age of WeHo residents is 55.

West Hollywood consistently tops lists of “most LGBTQ friendly cities” in the nation. The city’s embrace of Pride is part of its advocacy for nearly four decades for measures that support LGBTQ people.

In 2022, the city launched WeHo Pride after organizers of LA Pride, Christopher Street West (a 501 C3) moved that event to Hollywood Boulevard and other locations around Los Angeles.

Many people, however, feel a consolidation of the two events is necessary, particularly given the changes in sponsorship interest and stress of funding participation in two back to back major Pride events. LA Pride and WeHo Pride are held within days of one another.

Ysabel Jurado, 34, a lifelong community member of Highland Park, and openly out candidate, is running against current Councilmember Kevin De Leon for Council District 14, the most powerful city council in Los Angeles County. 

Her campaign slogan is ‘Ysabel For The Community.’

Earlier this year, Jurado made history in the primary, using her perspective as a historically underrepresented person in the hopes of bringing new leadership to the district after De Leon was called to resign in 2022, following a scandal. 

The live voting results earlier this year highlighted Ysabel Jurado at 24.52%, with 8,618 votes, while De Leon fell behind by nearly 400 votes, with 23.39% in the primary. 

Jurado is a tenants rights lawyer and housing justice advocate from Highland Park who has built her reputation in the community with support from social activist Dolores Huerta,  L.A. City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez and L.A. County Supervisor Hilda Solis. 

“I’m the daughter of undocumented immigrants, a public transit rider, a former teen mom, and a working class Angeleno who has navigated the challenges of poverty. I have held the line on countless strikes and defended truck drivers against the same wage theft my father faced,” said Jurado in her candidate statement.  

De Leon secured the second spot and will go head-to-head against Jurado in November. Jurado rose to the top of the polls, while her opponents spent more money on their campaigns, including De Leon. Miguel Santiago raised the most money for his campaign and also spent the most to secure support. De Leon came in second with both money spent and money raised. While Jurado came in fourth in the amount of money spent and raised for her campaign. 

Jurado is running to become the first queer, Filipina to represent CD-14. Among the list of issues she aims to tackle while in office are; homelessness, climate action, safer streets and economic justice that uplifts small businesses. 

“I will bring the institutional knowledge of a legal housing expert and the lived experience of a queer, immigrant-raised, working class, woman of color – a battle-tested representative for and from the community,” said Jurado. 

Though this is her first time running for office, she has already made it as far as political pioneer Gloria Molina in 2015. 

De Leon might be facing an uphill climb after he was caught saying homophobic, racist and anti-sematic remarks in a leaked audio recording that rocked his political career. Even President Joe Biden called for his resignation. 

The conversation that rocked L.A politics is said to have started because of redistricting plans and gerrymandering. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, De Leon had his hopes set on running for mayor of Los Angeles. Since the audio was leaked, protests erupted, calling for his resignation. De Leon continued in his position after an apology tour and is now running against Jurado on the November ballot. 

The recording of a conversation between De Leon, Ron Herrera, Nury Martinez and Gil Cedillo. 

Jurado’s statement on her campaign website calls out the leaders of CD-14 that betrayed the communities in the district. 

“Between FBI raids, backroom gerrymandering, racist rants, and corruption charges, our needs have been chronically ignored,” says the statement. “City government has failed us. We deserve better.”

If she wins, she would join a progressive bloc of leaders in city council that include Nithya Raman, Hugo Doto-Martinez and Councilmember Hernandez. The leadership would have a pendulum swing toward city affairs that has not been seen before. 

CD-14 covers Eagle Rock, El Sereno, Boyle Heights and parts of Lincoln Heights and downtown L.A., which includes skid row and other points of interest. 

Those points of interest make CD-14 seats particularly difficult when it comes to dealing with polarizing issues like homelessness and street safety measures. 

According to the latest demographic data by L.A City Council, 61% of the population is Latin American, while the second highest population is white, at 16%, followed by Asian, at 14% and Black at 6%. 

If elected, Jurado aims to tackle homelessness in a district that has one of the highest unhoused populations in the city. 

Jurado is now gearing up for the November election by continuing to campaign at various events across Los Angeles, including ‘Postcarding with Ysabel,’ at DTLA Arts District Brewing and The Hermosillo.

Pickle jars and pineapple on the right. Breakfast cereal and bagels over there. Riley Williams muttered these words as he ran his hands along the shelves.

Familiarizing himself with his new job at a grocery store in Orange County, he stopped by the break room and noticed the work schedule. His hours were listed next to the name his parents had given him, not the name he had chosen since he had come out as transgender. 

“I felt an overwhelming sense of dread and panic,” said Williams. When he asked his bosses to change the name, they refused.

In the next few months, his employers reminded him of an identity he did not associate with every time they placed his work schedule on the wall. When colleagues called Williams by his old name, he felt they were making fun of him. 

Williams’ experiences led him to the job of LGBTQ Health & Trans* Services Coordinator at the Orange County LGBTQ Center in Santa Ana. Now, he creates training material for the Cultural Competency Training program, the center’s workforce initiative to educate businesses about the LGBTQ community.

“It’s really about stopping [discrimination] before it happens to the next person,” said Williams.

A survey from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law found that 0.45% of adults 25 or older in the U.S. are transgender, while the percentage is nearly three times as high among those 18 to 24 years old. 

As these openly transgender youth enter the workforce in higher numbers, more companies are using training programs to help employees adjust. More than 400 businesses have used the Cultural Competency Training to educate workers on matters such as bathroom use and gender-affirming care. Their lessons include the difference between gender identity and sex, the usage of pronouns, and the importance of hormone therapy. Clients include the city of Irvine, Southland Integrated Services and Jamboree Housing.  

Today’s transgender youth are finding a more accepting work environment compared to past generations.

“I’ve had a lot of people in my life who want me to be strong and who’ve encouraged me to be strong, and that strength has led me to have confidence,” said Aspen Strawn, a transgender high school student in Orange County.

Strawn pointed to transgender rights pioneers who have led the way through the creation of workforce training programs. Started by the Human Rights Campaign, the Corporate Equality Index is a nationwide scale that indicates how equitable a business is toward the LGBTQ community. The index (scored from -25 to 100) bases its grades on workforce protections, inclusive benefits and culture and social responsibility. These days, major companies often post their CEI scores on their websites.

Although many large businesses, such as Walt Disney Co. and Apple Inc., have perfect CEI scores and are known to support workforce inclusion, not all corporations go that far. 

“I’m just not a big believer that big business has any strong interest in improving conditions,” said Arielle Rebekah, a transgender activist based in Chicago.

Hobby Lobby, for example, has been known for its anti-LGBTQ stances. In 2021, the company fought a legal battle to deny a transgender employee access to the women’s restroom. Businesses such as Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Twitter attained low scores, 30 and -25, respectively, on the 2023 CEI Index.

However, Assemblymember Chris Ward, D-San Diego, is not deterred by these corporations. 

He believes AB 1955 (SAFETY Act), his recently introduced bill, which will prevent forced outings of LGBTQ students, provide resources to their parents and protect educators who support them, is a step in the right direction.

“It’s important that … we don’t cower to the opposition forces that are trying to deny us identity and deny us who we are,” Ward said. “That we stand up, that we affirm and we really recite our pride in who we are.” 

Maya Desai is a reporter with JCal, a collaboration between The Asian American Journalists Association and CalMatters to immerse high school students in California’s news industry.

Hundreds of queer community members water-partied, danced, dined, and patronized a variety of local organizations at the 9th annual DTLA Proud Festival in Downtown Los Angeles this past weekend. 

The event featured a pop-up waterpark dance party and stage performances from DJ’s and drag queens, Aug 24 and 25, including a mini ball Sunday night when dancers competed for cash prizes. While past festivals were hosted at Pershing Square, this year’s festivities were relocated to the historic DTLA “gayborhood” at the 200 block of Spring Street, according to DTLA Proud Founder and Executive Director Oliver Alpuche.

“The ‘Gayborhood’ offers four queer safe spaces that have their doors open 365 days a year to our community and highlight and create an anchor in this area that is for us and by us,” Alpuche said. “We want to reset roots and carve out an area of DTLA that fosters inclusion, creativity and love. There is so much history that people don’t know about when it comes to Main Street.”

Muralist and graphic designer Coco Nella was live-painting a set of four paintings at the festival, and said each one is dedicated to one of the four queer bars in DTLA: Precinct, Bar Franca, New Jalisco Bar, and Kiso, which opened earlier this year.  

“This event is basically in my backyard, and I really just wanted to do something very local with people I know,” Nella said. “Oliver and I talked about donating each painting to each of the bars just to kind of tie them all together.” 

Nella was painting near one of two stages at the event, SummerTramp, where attendees swam in an above-ground pool and danced to musical performances throughout the weekend. The second stage, Proud, featured Preciosa night and a mini-ball. 

Hosted by the House of Gorgeous Gucci, as featured on season one of HBO’s ball TV show ‘Legendary,’ the ball on Sunday was one of the most popular and activated parts of DTLA Proud Fest. Participants danced for a performance spot in the ball, and joined teams to battle each other for the one thousand dollar cash prize.  

Jam, one of the house members walking the ball, was excited for the house to be featured at the festival. 

“It’s exciting to see that they’re posted and flagged,” Jam said. “People are out and proud, and I am loving everybody’s outfits.”

Other attendees, Jeremy Dow and Gerardo Cruz, said they were disappointed by the amount of white people in the space, and said that the event attendance had been more inclusive in past years than this year. 

“We live in East LA, so we’re pretty aware of the events that happen nearby, including downtown LA. I think based on the attendance, there are a lot of white, cis, gay men that seem to attend,” Cruz said. “So I think [DTLA Proud] can reach out to more, other communities.”

Many of the artists, businesses and organizations who hosted booths at the festival are entities who work to close those gaps within the community, including Bienestar, a local organization offering health services such as HIV management to Latinx and/or LGBT+ clients.  

Another vendor was Clitorati, the latest project of Jackie Steele, Alana Roshay and Trish Sweet, who have collectively helped produce a host of visibility and community events such as BiPride, Queer Women’s Visibility Week, Women’s Freedom Festival, Dyke Marches, and Lez Do Brunch. 

Sweet said they hope to build more relationships and community through similar networking events and fundraisers, such as a chest cancer awareness event, and partnerships with organizations like the TransLatin@ Coalition, to whom they donated a portion of their proceeds from Clitorati’s Pride sales this year.

“It was important for us to be a business versus a nonprofit, even though we do so much work in the community,” Steele said. “We also wanted to show other women, you don’t always have to belly crawl through fire for free and give everything away. You can develop something for yourself. You can build something a little bit bigger.”

Imagine getting from West Hollywood to Hollywood or LAX in minutes without having to fight through the notorious Los Angeles traffic. That’s the future the City of West Hollywood wants as it fights for an extension of the Metro K Line through the heart of the region’s gay nightlife neighborhood.

Metro is holding consultations on a proposed northern extension of the K Line from its current terminus at Expo/Crenshaw station to meet the A Line at Hollywood/Highland station and wants feedback on three proposed route options, but two of them bypass West Hollywood altogether.

The route that the City of West Hollywood prefers, called the San Vicente alignment, veers west to meet the D Line at the future Wilshire and Fairfax station before veering further west with stops at Beverly/Fairfax, Beverly/San Vicente, Santa Monica/San Vicente, and Santa Monica/La Brea before reaching the A Line. 

The cheapest and most direct route would go straight up La Brea Avenue to meet the A Line. A third route would run up Fairfax Avenue before turning back to Hollywood/Highland on the A Line but would also miss most of West Hollywood. All three options also consider a possible further extension to the Hollywood Bowl.

For West Hollywood City Planner David Fenn, the route through West Hollywood makes the most sense.

“The San Vicente route would put three times as many jobs and six times as many residents in walking distance of transit,” he says. “The areas that this is going through aren’t the average part of the county. They’re some of the biggest destinations for locals and tourists.” 

Some of the destinations the San Vicente route would service directly include the Grove, the Farmer’s Market, Cedars-Sinai, the Pacific Design Center, the Beverly Center, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and West Hollywood’s Rainbow District. Those destinations would help add more than 59,000 daily riders to the K Line, according to Metro’s draft environmental review, compared to just 47,000 new riders on the La Brea alignment. 

“Day one would have the highest ridership of any light rail line in the country,” Fenn says. “When you talk to regular people about this project, they tend to just get it. They say, ‘Of course I would take the subway to Pride, to the Bowl.’” 

Fenn says the best way for residents to ensure that the San Vicente alignment gets built is to let Metro know they want it.

Metro is holding public information sessions on Aug 10 at 10 a.m. at Susan Miller Dorsey Senior High on Aug 13 at 6 p.m., at Pan Pacific Park Community Center, and a virtual session on Aug.15 at noon over Zoom. 

If you can’t attend one of those meetings, residents can also submit comments to Metro directly by Sept. 5 using comment forms provided by the City of West Hollywood.

Metro is planning to decide a preferred route by the end of the year, but it will still be years before you can take a train from LAX to the Abbey. Metro’s current planned construction schedule for the line, using funds from the Measure R and Measure M referendums, won’t see the line complete until 2047.

West Hollywood is trying to speed that process up by getting stakeholders to agree on a route and then lobbying for additional funding from other sources. The city has also proposed creating an “Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District,” which would see the city dedicate any additional property tax revenue created by new developments and property value uplift near the rail line to paying down debt incurred by its construction.

Dedicating its own revenue to the project could help bring other funding sources on board, like the federal government, which could get shovels in the ground sooner. But Metro’s draft EIR says construction of the entire 10-mile line could take 10-11 years, or longer if construction phases are done separately.   

Fenn says that’s why it’s important that Metro doesn’t leave West Hollywood off the K Line.

“The way to look at this is we only get one shot at this,” Fenn says. “The scale of these projects, the amount of time it takes, we’re only going to get one rail line through this area in our lifetime.” 

“If we don’t spend that premium to get to the places people actually want to go, we’re going to be kicking ourselves about that missed opportunity.” 

The K Line opened in October 2022, and currently runs between Expo/Crenshaw on the E Line to Westchester/Veterans, with an extension to connect to LAX and the C Line expected to open in December 2025. The line will also take over the existing southwestern portion of the C Line to Redondo Beach, with a planned southern extension to Torrence expected to open in 2033.

By PAUL MURILLO | WeHo Times — West Hollywood council member candidate Larry Block, the owner of Block Party retail store and the blog wehoonline.com (formerly wehoville.com), has been accused of election misconduct in an email written anonymously to West Hollywood City Attorney Lauren Langer.

Mr. Block has been accused of using “deceptive practices by posting fraudulent comments on his website under assumed names, presumably to mislead the electorate and gain an undue advantage in the campaign.”

Mr. Block’s ownership and involvement with wehoonline.com is also being questioned in the email, stating: “In addition, the fact that Mr. Block is selling ad space on his website and controls its content raises significant concerns about the fairness and integrity of the electoral process. Such actions may create an unfair advantage for Mr. Block and potentially violate campaign finance laws and regulations. Given that the website appears to be used to promote Mr. Block’s candidacy, it may itself be considered a political advertisement…”

When reached for comment, Mr. Block stated that he has never used a different name other than his own to post comments on wehoville.com or wehoonline.com. He blamed a commenter who he says posed has him and used his IP address. He also alleges that he has zero involvement with wehoonline.com and says he is merely a “contributor.”

The open letter in its entirety is below:

###

Dear City Attorney,

I am writing to formally give notice concerning a serious pattern of potential election misconduct involving Mr. LarryBlock, a candidate in the upcoming local municipal election, and who is registered under FPPC ID 1471208. Mr. Block owns and manages a website WEHOonline.com dba WEHOonline Inc., a California corporation, wherein election-related content is disseminated. The contact on the advertising page (https://wehoonline.com/advertising-on-wehoonline/) states: For any inquiries, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected].

It has come to my attention that Mr. Block has allegedly engaged in deceptive practices by posting fraudulent comments on his website under assumed names, presumably to mislead the electorate and gain an undue advantage in the campaign. One example of a pertinent comment, attributed to the pseudonym “hot2trot,” is as follows:

hot2trot

Reply to Kings road resident

same here. the same people who bitch about everything are trying to stop people from exercising their right to vote.

Upon closer scrutiny, it is evident that hovering over the username “hot2trot” reveals the following URL, indicating the true authorship by Mr. Block:

https://wehoonline.com/author/larryblockwehoonline-com/ the “Author” badge is also next to the username indicating that the author of the article is also the author of the comment.

This conduct appears to violate California Elections Code Section 18351, which prohibits candidate’s use of a false or fictitious name or engaging in any deceitful practice to influence voters in an election. Manufacturing comments to falsely create the appearance of support is a clear example of such deceitful practices. For your convenience and to ensure the preservation of this evidence in case Mr. Block decides to destroy it, the original page has been archived and can be reviewed at this link:

https://web.archive.org/web/20240725040626/https://wehoonline.com/2024/07/23/oped-bullet-voting-probably-bad-idea/

In addition, the fact that Mr. Block is selling ad space on his website and controls its content raises significant concerns about the fairness and integrity of the electoral process. Such actions may create an unfair advantage for Mr. Block and potentially violate campaign finance laws and regulations. Given that the website appears to be used to promote Mr. Block‘s candidacy, it may itself be considered a political advertisement. Under the Political Reform Act, specifically Government Code Section 84501 and Section 84502, all political advertisements must include disclosures identifying the entity responsible for the content. The absence of such disclosures on his website likely constitute a violation of these requirements, undermining transparency and fairness in the election process.

The combination of these issues—the fraudulent comments and the lack of proper disclosures—suggests that Mr. Block has engaged in a pattern of deceptive practices and potential violations of California election laws. Such conduct seriously undermines the integrity and fairness of the electoral process.

Given the gravity of this issue and its potential ramifications on the integrity of our local electoral process, I hereby respectfully request that your office conduct an immediate and thorough investigation into this alleged misconduct. It is imperative that all candidates adhere to the highest standards of legal and ethical conduct to preserve the sanctity of our democratic process.

Should you require any additional information or documentation to facilitate your investigation, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you for your prompt and serious attention to this matter.

This article was originally published in the WeHo Times and has been reposted here with permission.

By PAUL MURILLO | WeHo Times — Fred Segal West Hollywood at 8500 Sunset Boulevard is one of two remaining Los Angeles County stores that closed on Tuesday. The WeHo location has been in the heart of the Sunset Strip for the past 6 years. It opened near the La Cienega intersection in 2018.

The Fred Segal in West Hollywood celebrated 60 years in June 2021 with the unveiling of a giant peace sign sculpture in front of its store, by Los Angeles artist Nathan Mabry. Jeff Lotman, Owner and CEO of Fred Segal was at the unveiling and seemed optimistic about the future of the Fred Segal brand.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the brand once had nine stores in California and locations in Switzerland and Taipei, succumbed to a challenging retail landscape, never recovering from the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on sales despite being a fixture of Los Angeles fashion since the 1960s, according to Lotman, who bought the company in 2019.

The Times states that Lotman doesn’t blame the company’s downfall on not having enough self-branded products with Fred Segal stores carrying close to 200 outside brands but only few of their own offerings.

FRED SEGAL was known as an iconic lifestyle brand that defined the LA Look and sparked a revolutionary shift in style, changing retail and pop culture forever.

In 1961, Fred Segal, dubbed the original “Curator of Cool” opened his first store, inventing the denim bar and pulling American Style Westward: foretelling that people wanted to be comfortable, casual and sexy. In addition to designing his own collection, Fred pioneered the shop-in-shop concept and experiential retail, resulting in a brand built on heritage, inclusivity and love.

For over 60 years, FRED SEGAL embodied LA cool—to the entire world. Despite the brand’s long-running success, its legacy is sustained by always staying ahead. FRED SEGAL opened its Sunset Boulevard Flagship in 2018, and expanded to Malibu, Asia and Europe.

The Fred Segal website has been shut down as well. There was a 75% off “summer” sale online this month without really announcing its impending closure. It has already been marked as permanently closed on Yelp, however, the Fred Segal Home furnishings store will remain open in Culver City.

This article was originally published in the WeHo Times and has been reposted here with permission.

Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced on Tuesday his candidacy for California governor in the 2026 election, joining an expanding roster of contenders vying to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

The former mayor has a long track record in support of the LGBTQ community, even preceding his declaration as chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention that he favored a same-sex marriage legalization plank in the party’s platform, support that ultimately led to support from the Vice President Biden and later President Barack Obama.

Villaraigosa, who previously ran for governor in 2018 and finished third in the primary behind Newsom and Republican John Cox, brings a long history in California politics, having served as Assembly speaker, a Los Angeles City Council member, and the city’s mayor.

Villaraigosa, 71, has maintained a presence in state politics despite leaving elected office in 2013. 

His campaign is positioning him as a seasoned “problem solver,” with a focus on the state budget, education, and reducing costs for small businesses and middle-class families. 

“We have serious problems, and money alone won’t fix them,” Villaraigosa stated. “We need to focus on better outcomes, fixing what’s broken, and investing in what works. I’m a problem solver, and with your support, that’s exactly what I’ll do as governor.”

In his campaign video, Villaraigosa highlighted his achievements as mayor and Assembly speaker, emphasizing his experience in bipartisan legislation and a tough stance on crime, which is anticipated to be a central issue in the 2026 election. His tenure as mayor was marked by significant restructuring of the Los Angeles Police Department and efforts to improve the city’s education system.

Villaraigosa joins a crowded Democratic field that includes Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, former Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, and former state Controller Betty Yee. Attorney General Rob Bonta is also considering a run, though he has indicated he will decide after the November election. 

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has not ruled out a bid but has not provided a definitive answer.

The race remains wide open, although Kounalakis has already amassed significant campaign funds, with her campaign reporting over $9 million on hand. Current Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Congresswoman Katie Porter are among the names rumored to potentially join the race later.

Newsom’s tenure will conclude in early 2027, setting the stage for a competitive race to replace him. Villaraigosa’s entry into the race signals a significant development, given his extensive background in state and local governance and his focus on pragmatic solutions for California’s pressing issues.

The 2026 gubernatorial election will be Villaraigosa’s second attempt at the state’s highest office. 

Villaraigosa’s dedication to diverse and inclusive leadership is evident through his ongoing recognition of leaders who champion these values. As recently as Jan. 18, the Antonio Villaraigosa Leadership Award was presented to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria at the 37th Tribute to Mayors Signature Event. 

The award, given annually by the Latino Leaders Network, honors mayors from cities with significant Latino populations who have shown a commitment to uniting diverse communities.

“Getting an award in Mayor Villaraigosa’s name is really meaningful to me,” Gloria stated. “I was the nerdy kid who would watch C-SPAN and read the newspaper when I was young. Seeing a charismatic and energetic leader like Villaraigosa made me believe I could achieve similar goals in public service.”

Villaraigosa, who grew up in East Los Angeles during the 1950s and 1960s when sexism and homophobia pervaded the culture, has a track record fighting for LGBTQ issues.

“I think it’s prevalent in every community but in the Latino community, one could argue, it was even more prevalent, more extreme in terms of sexism and homophobia,” Villaraigosa told Karen Ocamb in a 2018 interview for Los Angeles Blade.

“I grew up with a mom that was very progressive and a victim of domestic violence. I grew up in a home with alcoholism and a father who left three terrorized kids,” explaining his outlook.

“I’m not running for anything else,” said Villaraigosa. “So, a popularity contest is not what I’m looking for. You’re never gonna see Antonio Villaraigosa — candidate for president or vice president. I want to be a damn good governor.”