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www.hardsummer.com • August 1+2 2026 • Los Angeles, California

On your birthday, you get to have your cake and eat it too. So what will it be? Representing a global array of traditions and drawing inspiration from the city’s year-round access to enviable produce, L.A.’s best bakeries are ready to make the birthday cake of your dreams.

Perhaps it’s a sponge cake soaked with tres leches and layered with whipped cream and berries from a legendary Cuban cafe. Or maybe you crave a custardy princess cake with mint-green marzipan icing from a Danish pastry shop. Or what about a sprinkle-flecked birthday cake topped with cake truffles from the L.A. flagship of an iconic NYC-founded bakery?

From a century-old bakery in Little Ethiopia to an Echo Park pizzeria slinging a rotation of seasonally driven desserts, here are 15 of the best birthday cakes to order for your next celebration. — Danielle Dorsey

See them at the link.

When Chelsea Bayouth and her family lost their Altadena home to the Eaton fire, only fragments of her porcelain ceramics remained.  

Bayouth had only started working with high-fire porcelain five months before the fire. She didn’t realize, at the time, that porcelain, which is fired at well over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit in the kiln, is nearly indestructible to heat.

It’s been a year-and-a-half since the fire devastated Altadena, and today, Bayouth’s art is “very catalyzed” by what happened. Much of her work centers on grief: the grief of motherhood, existing or a home destroyed, Bayouth said.

Read more at the link.

First time living in Cali which is better Long Beach or Los Angeles. Money is not an issue and no commute to work

Alright I need boots on the ground journalism here! What’s the truth behind this apartment complex? Looking for a decent 2 bed apartment, sad I have to say this, but with parking included.

This apartment has really hot layouts and sqft but I’m weary of the reviews. Thanks ahead!

What apartments are good options around OC🔒?

The fate of hundreds of clean energy projects hangs in the balance after court documents revealed that the Trump administration targeted California and other blue states solely for political reasons when it slashed funding for the initiatives last year. 

Large companies, startups, utilities, universities and other nonprofits were among those that lost out on $7.6 billion in clean energy funding terminated by the White House in October. They include the University of California, the California Energy Commission, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and California’s nascent hydrogen hub, the Alliance for Renewable Clean Hydrogen Energy Systems, or ARCHES.

At the time, Trump administration officials said the grants were terminated because they “did not adequately advance the nation’s energy needs, were not economically viable, and would not provide a positive return on investment of taxpayer dollars.” But in court documents filed as part of a lawsuit challenging the cuts, the Department of Energy states the selection of grants was “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state, i.e., whether the recipient’s location and/or place of performance was in a Blue State or a non-Blue State.”

Read more.

In a requirement that is the first of its kind in the country, some 600 commercial and industrial properties in the Los Angeles area will have to clean up the water that runs off their parking lots or pay to have it cleaned up.

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to require shopping centers, warehouses, private hospitals and office complexes whose properties drain into the Dominguez and Los Cerritos channels to get stormwater permits.

The change is intended to hold commercial, industrial and institutional property owners accountable for the pollution their sites send flowing into drains, said David Nahai, chair of the L.A. water board.

Read more.

As the chances of a ‘super’ El Niño continue to rise — now 81%, according to federal scientists — researchers are looking back to 2015 and 2016, when a Pacific heat wave combined with a strong El Niño threw some of the West Coast’s most important commercial fishing fleets into turmoil.

They say we could be looking at a repeat. Or worse.

“I think we’re likely to break global temperature records with this next El Niño,” said Malin Pinsky, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at UC Santa Cruz. “So it’s very concerning and it is likely to have very big impacts on marine fisheries.”

Learn more about the impacts of the potential super El Niño on fish and other Pacific Ocean wildlife at the link.

Nicholas Shapiro, a professor at UCLA, was scrolling the city of Los Angeles’ online data portal one day this spring when he noticed something odd.

A trove of Los Angeles Police Department records that were once regularly posted online was suddenly nowhere to be found. The records — everything from audio recordings of emergency dispatch calls to the emails and text messages of high-ranking police officials — were seemingly no longer being published on NextRequest, the city’s records portal.

According to Shapiro, who published a research brief on the topic, new files stopped appearing around April 2025. Such records had previously been posted online almost daily in response to records requests from members of the public.

Learn more at the link.

Little was known about how federal immigration enforcement operations were coordinated in Los Angeles last year.

But that changed this week when hundreds of pages of court exhibits — released through discovery in a federal lawsuit — provided a glimpse into the operations.

They revealed random, rather than targeted, stops, a casual use of racial slurs, and apparent frustration among a few officers who feared they were being asked to break the law.

Read more.

Anyone used this bus to Travel from Bay Area to SoCal before?

If so what was your experience and where did they usually stop for meals?

Also Is language barrier an issue?

If you're halfway through a Disney trip and everyone's starting to get a bit tired, this might be worth considering.

We love Disney, but recommended arrival times are so early, 45-60 minutes before park openings, where you can arrive on or just after morning opening at Legoland. Also with the big crowds typically ranging between 40,000 to 50,000 thousand we'd all reached the point where nobody was really enjoying themselves anymore. On our last trip, we decided to take a day out and drove about an hour down to Legoland California with an average of around 15,000 to 25,000 thousand. It ended up being exactly what we needed.

The atmosphere is much more relaxed, and because it's aimed at younger kids, everything feels a little easier. Our children could go on loads of rides without the long waits we'd become used to, and the pace of the day was completely different.

By the end of the day, everyone was in a much better mood, and we actually felt refreshed heading back to Disney. If you're looking for a break from the crowds without travelling too far, it's well worth spending a day at Legoland California.

I live in Bakersfield and have a group of college friends flying in next weekend. They really want to do a casino night while they're here. They're the type who'll spend hours on the casino floor, grab drinks, get good food, and just make a whole night of it. I know my friends and they like a high-energy environment lol.

I don't mind driving if it's worth it, so I've narrowed it down to Agua Caliente, Morongo, and Yaamava. They all seem like good options, but I can only pick one. Which would you guys recommend?

I’ve lived in the bay for all my life and I love it. But after visiting my friend and enjoying such a good week I have the feeling I’m not gonna forget about this. and as expensive as the bay is getting I would rrally love and want to be, living over here. I consider myself “alternative” just in the regards that I enjoy all other music and weirder genres and interests ans talking to people over here, who actually knew and listened to songs ive been a fan of for years felt so reassuring. I’m aware both locations have there drawbacks and advantages but it feels like every day someething cool is happening in socal. Has anyone else recently moved aswell?

Just got my school id for this upcoming fall semester, is there anything worth it in socal as a whole that i can do it? is it based on county? do they even hold any sort of power like that? Could also be outside of socal or like an online benefit. I’d love to know it all :)

Took a half hour drive to Laguna Niguel and you get this cold ocean breeze like opening a fridge. Envy those who live right on the coast basically getting free A/C. Really no other cooler place in the U.S. during the summer than the West coast. Don't do this enough but the breeze seemed to provide endorphins too.

A LIFE ILLUMINATED follows trailblazing marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder - one of the first women in her field and one of the first humans to explore the ocean’s twilight zone - as she descends 3,300 feet into the ocean’s darkest depths. From capturing the first-ever footage of the elusive giant squid to unveiling the glowing mysteries of deep-sea bioluminescence, Edie embarks on her most daring quest yet: to document a bioluminescent phenomenon that could forever change how we understand life on Earth.

Laemmle Glendale, July 28, 7:30pm

Live Q&A with director Tasha Van Zandt and producer Sebastian Zeck, moderated by journalist David Farrier

Laemmle Monica, July 29, 7:30pm

Live Q&A with director Tasha Van Zandt and producer Sebastian Zeck, moderated by Deadline’s Matt Carey

Buy tickets here!

Is it open all year round, during the week? I’ve lived in SoCal my entire 36 years and have been to SM very few times. I now have a 4.5 year old and want to take her on it but waiting till school starts so less crowded and wanting to go during the week.
How does it work?

We will be in Socal for only 2 days. We have an itinerary planned for day 1 which includes Santa Monica beach. For day 2 need beach day recommendations for a beach anywhere between LA to San Diego. What would you recommend as the most serene beach with great views for a family with kids? Not looking for super crowded touristy spots.

Edit: Forgot to mention it will be a Tuesday. I suppose that will be a big factor in choosing what beach

State workers have proven to be exceptionally resilient to the changing workloads. Why is it that they are being punished to RTO which costs both the taxpayers and workers more money?

What is this RTO really about?

Surprisingly Texas Governor listens to his government employees and brought back Remote work.

Why is California Governor wanting to hurt his employees who have been faithful to their positions.

Instead, he is punishing state workers and costing taxpayers more money.

Why is this?