South Park Winter Craft Market, a European-style Holiday Market, returns for a second year on Friday, December 6 from 5-10 pm at Audio Graph Beer Co’s outdoor space on Olive and 12th Streets. Admission is free. All are welcome!

‍ ‍First Draft Taproom and Kitchen in South Park was the site of the 5th Annual Howl-O-Ween event – one of South Park’s favorite yearly celebrations.  This year, over 150 dogs and their proud owners signed up with Eventbrite to parade their very best Halloween attire.

Most of us in South Park know Derrick McMillon as the affable and cheerful “gatekeeper” at the Prank Bar on 11th and Hope.  Anyone walking by his post at the entry to the popular patio bar receives a quick smile and a friendly greeting.  He has become so popular that during his recent lengthy absence the local conversation often turned to, “I wonder where Darrick is?  I hope he’s OK.”

As a result of an unprecedented rise in traffic and pedestrian accidents in 2023 the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Authority (SFMTA) initiated a test program installing fifteen speed cameras at major intersections throughout the city in March of this year.  The results of the first few months of the test project are stunning. Maybe it is time for Los Angeles to consider safety cameras in South Park.

  A downtown Broadway treasure built in 1913 has reopened in 2025. I met at the newly remodeled and reopened Globe Theatre at 744 S. Broadway with Houman Sarshar, CEO of the Globe Theatre organization. 

This past Saturday, on September 27, in a small corner lot on 11th and Grand an intimate group of about 800 people from the South Park Community were brought together. It's called A Taste of South Park, as the sounds, the visuals, the food samplings, and the people represent all that is good about living and working in this neighborhood.   

For the second year, A Taste of South Park held a competition for the BEST Restaurant/Bar Experience, with attendees casting votes.

This year, all 16 restaurants and bars received votes, and….. drumroll….

What would you like to see more of in South Park? A Taste of South Park attendees were provided 3 dots to vote for their top 3 desires for South Park.

Mayor Karen Bass announced the city’s actions to revitalize Downtown LA as she signed the Los Angeles Convention Center expansion resolution into law on September 24 at the Convention Center.

In a recent Downtown Los Angeles CRE Market Update Event hosted by Bisnow, Erewhon Chief Development officer Yuval Chiprut confirmed that, after a long search for a new Los Angeles location, they have purchased a property in South Park at 940 South Hill Street, directly across Olympic from the recently completed Olympic and Hill apartment property. 

The Downtown Alliance Business Improvement District and Biznow Publications hosted a four-hour event to discuss downtown’s current and future state-of-affairs.  As one wag put it during a panel discussion: “Things are never as bad as ‘they’ say nor as good as ‘they’ say.”  This pretty well sums up the current condition of our city following the COVID debacle. 

Downtown Los Angeles — the city’s true urban core — has weathered more than its share of ups and downs since the loft renaissance of the early 2000s. This year, however, has been one of the toughest sales seasons in recent memory. What is usually a busy spring and summer simply didn’t materialize. Condo sales across DTLA dropped nearly 20%, listings spiked by 30%, and units sat on the market three times longer than average. For both agents and sellers, it’s been a head-scratcher.

Across the country, headlines tell the same story: people feel more divided, less neighborly, and more isolated than ever before. Civility feels fragile. Empathy feels scarce. Yet one truth remains — community is still where hope lives.

Toastique, at Olympic and Olive, debuted at A Taste of South Park last Saturday to rave reviews! Previously I had talked with owners Ail and Mounir as they were working on the interior of Toastique, and I was enthralled with their love of toast!!!! Here is part of our conversation.

This event is a favorite South Park treat – for dogs, dog owners, and non-dog owners. Come for the dog parade, costumes worn by both dogs and dog owners, and the competition for prizes. The 5th annual Howl-O-Ween event will be Saturday, November 1, from 1-4 pm at First Draft Taproom and Kitchen on Olive at Pico.

It was a spectacular Southern California afternoon – not too hot, not to cool, just right.  So… Enid and I decided to take our live-in family members Noodle and Elizbeth on a stroll to see what was happening at DTLA DOG DAY in the beautiful McGuire Gardens on the Flower Street side of the LA Public Library.  This once-a-year Dog Expo is produced by DTLA Alliance and definitely did not disappoint!

LA’s grand 2028 Olympic production is now only three summers away.  What seemed to be the distant future is now right on our doorstep!  The city has been quietly preparing for the summer of 2028, and little has been heard on the effort – until now!  The main theoretical approach to pulling off the LA Olympics has been to improve and use existing infrastructure instead of creating completely new facilities. 

Our neighborhood businesses depend on us. A convention in town, a game at Crypto.com, a concert or event at Belasco is welcomed by every business. But day in and day out, our local businesses need us to visit and promote them. With that in mind, I asked residents and workers what South Park eateries, services, stores, and other spaces local residents would like to promote and to see thrive.

One of the most prominent companies offering robot food delivery services is Serve Robotics. I enjoyed a great sit-down with Serve’s local representative, Vignesh Ran (call me Vigi)  the other day to get a little history and insight on this operation that is rapidly growing in popularity in South Park.

The South Park Neighborhood Association (SPNA) will host the sixth annual event on September 27th from 1-5 pm at the corner of Grand and 11th on the Desmond AEG lot. As in previous years, the event will include food and drink samples from 15 local restaurants and bars, live music and a DJ, raffles, and a kids’ activity table.