Play ball! Dodger Stadium gondola project claims early-season victory

Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Sunday, Feb. 25. I’m Andrew J. Campa, your host. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend:

• The Dodger Stadium Gondola project cleared its first hurdle.
• Rebecca Grossman is found guilty of murder in killing of young brothers.
• Teachers union is suspending its campaign for a board member due to antisemitism.
• And here’s today’s e-newspaper

Dodger Stadium gondola project scores early victory

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened spring training on a sunny Thursday afternoon in Peoria, Ariz.

Fans gathered to see the stars, new and old: Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw, etc.

The Boys in Blue kicked off one of their most anticipated seasons in years with a 14-1 drubbing of rival San Diego.

As that game was taking place, another kind of pitch was playing out back home in Los Angeles.

A plan to construct an estimated half-billion-dollar, 1.2-mile gondola between Union Station and Dodger Stadium by former team owner Frank McCourt took its first steps toward becoming a reality.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority — which includes such heavy hitters as L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and county Supervisors Hilda Solis and Lindsey Horvath — gave McCourt his first resounding victory by approving the project’s environmental analysis 11 to 0, with one abstention

One hurdle overcome, but many left in long season

The vote was a home run for gondola supporters, but the proposal faces more scrutiny and and regulatory hurdles before the Los Angeles City Council, the California Department of Transportation and the California Department of State Parks.

The ultimate goal for gondola planners, as documented by The Times’ Rachel Uranga and Bill Shaikin, is for the shuttle — which is expected to ferry 5,000 fans to Dodger Stadium per hour — ready for 2028, in time for the Summer Olympics.

Backers first proposed the gondola in 2018, selling the idea as an alternative to the congested stadium entry that clogs neighboring streets.

Part of the game plan for gondola planners has been to woo residents from nearby Chinatown and the 415-unit William Mead Homes projects with giveaways including toys, backpacks and turkey dinners.

“This seems like something good,” said Ines Gomez, president of the homes’ resident advisory council. “It will reduce traffic.”

Project opponents are hoping for a comeback

Thursday’s defeat was a curveball for activists who flooded the MTA meeting in opposition and were buoyed by City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, who urged a “no” vote.

“Today’s outcome was shameful, but this fight is far from over,” said Jon Christensen, founding member of LA Parks Alliance, who wrote the guide “Seven Fatal Flaws in Metro’s Gondola Feir.”

His group said it would fight the project via a lawsuit because the environmental impact report did not take into account any potential future hotel, retail and entertainment complex that may be developed in McCourt-owned Dodger Stadium parking lots.

Some Chinatown residents have referred to the gondola project as an “act of gentrification” and worry about increased pollution and less parking available. Others fear the view from L.A. Historic Park would be forever ruined by towers and swaying gondolas.

“This community is divided,” said Xóchitl Manzanilla, who has lived at William Mead for 32 years. “It’s a monstrosity what [McCourt] wants to do.”

City, County provide pathway for planners, but with provisions

Bass, Solis and Metro board members issued a list of 31 conditions they want to impose in order for the project to proceed, which includes a plan for a regional bus program that could compete with the gondola for riders and a restriction on future development around Dodger Stadium.

The conditions are a nod to project foes, who worry that this fully private venture will eventually end up costing public dollars.

This newspaper’s editorial board recently backed the project, while readers were skeptical, at best, of the gondola.

While it’s unknown if the project will succeed, what is known is that the season is still very young. For more on the project’s next steps, read here.

The week’s biggest stories

(Los Angeles Times)

Politics and elections

• Candidates trying to unseat L.A. County Dist. Atty. George Gascón have similar commercials, making it challenging to differentiate them.
• Democrat-turned-independent candidate RFK Jr. was championed by comedians at a fundraiser.
• A LAUSD board candidate was removed from her counseling job pending a confidential investigation.
• A water agency that seeded clouded is accused by conspiracy theorists of causing storms.

Crime, courts and cops

• An L.A. model found dead in a refrigerator allowed the suspected killer to stay with her.
• Mother whose sons were killed by Rebecca Grossman never stopped fighting for justice.
• Deputies fatally shoot a man at a Palmdale gas station.
• Man dies after suspect pepper-sprays him on Metro bus.
• Fake Botox doctor is arrested for attempting to set up shop again weeks after his prison release.
• Judge keeps Temecula Valley Unified’s critical race theory ban in place.

Pets and animal welfare

• Bill is proposed to end blanket ban by landlords on some pets.
• Central Coast home that harbors endangered species to be preserved.
• Time is running out for animals scheduled to be euthanized at local shelters.

Snowy situations

• Big Bear resort records snowiest February in decades thanks to persistent storms.
• Avalanche spawns 60-foot walls of snow on Mt. Shasta.

More big stories

• A burst hydrogen peroxide line at the Chiquita Canyon landfill injured one person Friday evening.
• Eight died in a head-on collision in Madera.
• The “738.” A new area code is coming to LA.
• Former Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer wants back in the majors.

Get unlimited access to the Los Angeles Times. Subscribe here.

Column One

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

(Anna Tsyhyma/For the Times)

Against the Russian war’s grim backdrop, Ukrainian Olena Kovalyk continues a haunting quest. From her southern Ukrainian village, a woman wants only one thing: to find her husband, who disappeared shortly after Russia invaded two years ago.

More great reads

• A doctor takes intervention and medicine to the streets, hoping to save lives.
• Late Los Angeles Times reporter Greg Yee shows us his view of the city.
• A battle brewing over California workers’ unique right to sue their bosses.

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

For your weekend

(Jo Anna Ley)

Going out

• 🏃 Walk, bike or run the annual L.A. Chinatown Firecracker Run beginning at 7:15 a.m.
• 🚲 CicLAvia-Melrose is hosting its 50th annual Los Angeles Street Open Event on Melrose Avenue, beginning at 9 a.m.
• 🖼️ Long Beach’s Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) is hosting its Afro Latinx Festival, beginning at 11 a.m.
• 🎨 The grand re-opening of the East L.A. art gallery known as ChimMaya that featured Chicano/Latino Arts opens at 2 p.m.

Staying in

• 🍺 He’s loud, brutish and he’s back. Jon Taffer and a cast of guest stars, including Los Angeles’ Danny Trejo, debut Season 9 of “Bar Rescue” at 7 p.m. on the Paramount Network.
• 🎲 CNN debuts its miniseries on the history of Las Vegas, “one of America’s most beloved and notorious cities,” at 10 p.m.
• 🧑‍🍳 Sunday is National Clam Chowder (pronounced chow-da) Day. Here’s a New England-style recipe from Executive Chef Jeremy Sewall of Boston.
• ✏️ 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.

(Allie Sullberg / For The Times)

He turned our romantic getaway into a stress test. Did I pass? After years of being single, I was having a romantic comedy moment with my friend-approved, nerdy-cute match. I didn’t pick up on any red flags.

Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team

Andrew J. Campa, reporter
Carols Lozano, news editor

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