🤙 Nerdy Weekend Vibes

It is set to be another great weekend in our city, especially with the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books taking place at USC.

My plans for this weekend call for getting outside, while also incorporating some new roadmap features for the CurationsLA platform. This includes a new way to see neighborhood feeds, filming activities (TV shows and movies) happening throughout the city, and a feature that we have all missed: curated jobs, based on the interests of this community!

More information on this will come, but if you'd like to take a peek, as our goal is to always build in public, then head on over to the main site at curationsla.com.

Feedback is always welcomed, just reply to this email or hmu direct: [email protected]

Have a wonderful weekend. I'll see you all on Tuesday! - Wyatt

Walter Cronkite anchors for the first time on CBS Evening News, stepping into the chair that would make him "the most trusted man in America" for the next two decades

Pizza City Fest LA 2026 returns to L.A. LIVE next weekend for two days of slices, dough-spinning demos, and industry talks. How many of Southern California's top pizzerias are coming together under one tent for the 2026 edition?

ANSWER ↓

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WEEK AHEAD: High clouds thin out by afternoon with dry, pleasant conditions through today. Santa Ana winds kick in Friday with 20 to 40 mph gusts across LA and Ventura Counties, pushing temps into the mid 80s through Saturday. Onshore flow returns Sunday, cooling Downtown LA back to around 80°. A cold upper low slides down the West Coast next week, bringing cooler temps, possible low clouds, and a slight chance of rain by Tuesday. VIA NWS LOS ANGELES →

Zampo just opened inside the Cameo Beverly Hills, a short walk from Rodeo Drive, serving modern Peruvian with a quietly bold edge. Named for the zampona pan flute, the menu moves through bright tiraditos and clean cebiches at lunch to a full dinner experience with lomo saltado, pisco-driven cocktails, and a private dining room for 10. Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

WEBSITE →   |   MENU →

Viva La Mamma just landed at 8022 W 3rd Street, bringing Vienna-born, Italy-raised Italian dining with a wild, sunlit energy. The menu is built around 72-hour fermented Neapolitan pizza, handmade pasta, and plates designed for the center of the table. Highlights include the Truffle Love mafaldine, Pacific Kiss prawn linguine, and a whole rack of herb-crusted Colorado lamb off the grill. Open daily from 5 to 11 PM.

WEBSITE →   |   MENU →   |   INSTAGRAM →

Hibachi Papi is expanding from Westwood to Hollywood with a new location at 6201 Hollywood Boulevard. The brand, built on 30+ years of teppanyaki experience, serves fresh, made-to-order hibachi bowls, combo plates, and garlic noodles. The Hollywood spot will feature a full bar with handcrafted cocktails, a private indoor room, a large outdoor patio, plus an expanded menu with appetizers, desserts, and late-night service.

WEBSITE →   |   MENU →   |   INSTAGRAM →

🥩 BEVERLY HILLS: Porta Via's triumphant return to the Golden Triangle, via Toddrickallen

🍔 BRENTWOOD: Neighborly Brentwood officially opened this past Saturday with four different menus, via Westside Today

🌮 SANTA MONICA: Taco Bell Cantina files permits to open in Downtown Santa Monica, via Santa Monica Daily Press

☕ STARBUCKS X OPENAI: Starbucks introduces a beta app in ChatGPT to find drinks based on mood, via Starbucks

The country's largest literary celebration takes over the University Park campus Saturday and Sunday, April 18 and 19. Expect 200+ panels and conversations, more than 300 exhibitors, book signings, cooking demos, and all-ages programming across both days. This year's lineup features Lionel Richie, Sarah Jessica Parker, Larry David, and Roxane Gay alongside a deep bench of USC Festival Panels from award-winning faculty. Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

FESTIVAL HOME → · FULL SCHEDULE → · VIA USC →

🚲 E-BIKES: Los Angeles looks to restrict e-bikes from non-bike trails, via LAist

🚕 POTHOLES: Waymo and Waze partner with the City of Los Angeles to fix potholes, via Waymo

🤙 WEST LA: Reminder that CicLAvia in West Los Angeles takes place next Sunday from 9am to 4pm, via CicLAvia

Five years after acquiring the Marina Shores shopping center at 6500 Pacific Coast Highway for $68 million, Vancouver-based Onni Group has begun demolition of the six-acre site. In its place: a five-story complex with 600 apartments, 4,000 square feet of commercial space, and parking for over 1,100 vehicles. Designed by SCB, the project is the largest of three apartment developments planned along this stretch of PCH in Long Beach.

READ MORE VIA URBANIZE LA →

A new five-story residential project has been pitched for 1344 N. Alta Vista Boulevard near Sunset and La Brea in Hollywood. Developer Generation Real Estate Partners plans to replace 10 existing homes with 60 apartments plus one accessory dwelling unit and 44 parking spaces. Twelve of the units would be set aside for low-income renters in exchange for citywide housing incentives. Kevin Tsai Architecture is designing the contemporary low-rise.

READ MORE VIA URBANIZE LA →

🚧 LA BREA: La Brea Tar Pits to close for two-year renovation ahead of 2028 Olympics, via FOX 11 Los Angeles

🚇 NOHO-PASADENA: Work getting underway for NoHo-Pasadena BRT Line, via Urbanize Los Angeles

🏡 PASADENA: Pasadena takes first action to turn 710 Stub back into a community, via Pasadena Star-News

🪧 SANTA MONICA: Santa Monica Brewery installs outdoor jumbotron ahead of 2026 World Cup, via Santa Monica Daily Press

Founder Nikita Ermoshkin and president Nate Thuli have officially opened Airhart's first design and innovation center in Long Beach, with hangar tours kicking off and the market rollout of their first four-seat prototype slated for later this year. Built in collaboration with Sling Aircraft, the plane pairs dual-touch cockpit displays, a push-pull speed bar, and a joystick with automated safety systems aimed at making small-plane flying as intuitive as driving. Priced under $100,000 and burning just 7.4 gallons per hour, Airhart is betting on a new generation of LA aviators ready to take to the skies.

READ THE FEATURE → · VISIT AIRHART →

👻 SANTA MONICA: Snap Inc. cuts 16% of global staff, or roughly 1,000 jobs, as CEO Evan Spiegel refocuses the company toward net-income profitability, via NBC Los Angeles

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie stays King Koopa for a third weekend with a projected $35 to $45M. The film sits at $310.1M domestic and $631.5M global, pacing ahead of last year's A Minecraft Movie at this point. Likely to be knocked off next week when Michael debuts with possibly the biggest music biopic opening ever.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy is this weekend's big new release. Warner Bros. and New Line unite horror powerhouses James Wan and Jason Blum for a gory, R-rated take on the shambling monster. The Evil Dead Rise director takes a contained approach about a girl kidnapped and returned "alive" eight years later. Early reactions almost uniformly call it "gross" or "disgusting," which could cut both ways for word-of-mouth. Forecasters project an opening between $17 to $22M.

Project Hail Mary keeps cruising with its lowest drop yet in Frame 3 at $24.1M (-24%). Domestic total now at $258.1M, officially passing The LEGO Movie as Phil Lord and Chris Miller's biggest directorial hit. Globally at $512.1M and climbing toward $700M.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Domestic YTD has crossed $2B, up 26% from 2025. PG-rated family films have outgrossed every other rating for two straight years. Summer pipeline is loaded with Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II, and The Mandalorian and Grogu.

FORECAST DATA VIA BOX OFFICE PRO | LAST WKND DATA VIA THE DAILIES

🤵 BOND: Amazon MGM's search for the new James Bond actor: "We're taking the time to do this with care and deep respect," via Variety

🎞️ TRIBECA: TriBeCa Festival 2026 lineup features a Katie Holmes and Joshua Jackson reunion in Happy Hours, plus films with Susan Sarandon, Dustin Hoffman, and Quentin Tarantino, via The Hollywood Reporter

💼 WARNER BROS: Warner Bros. confirms new specialty label Clockwork, with Sean Baker's Ti Amo! as the first pic revealed at CinemaCon, via Deadline

* IF NECESSARY

Lakers open at home Saturday night on ABC against a surging Houston team that pushed through the regular season as one of the West's most improved defenses. LA holds home court in a 4 vs. 5 matchup that sportsbooks are calling one of the tightest first-round series in the bracket. Expect a physical, low-possession series with swing games decided in the final four minutes.

Clippers fall in Play-In. Stephen Curry dropped 27 second-half points and Al Horford knocked down four threes as the Warriors completed an epic comeback Wednesday night, 126-121, to eliminate the Clippers and move one win away from the 8 seed. Tough close to a spirited season for the LAC squad.

Title picture: Oklahoma City enters the postseason as the consensus favorite to lift the trophy, with Boston the clear favorite out of the East. Denver, San Antonio, and the Lakers all sit in the next tier of Western contenders. Finals tip off June 3 on ABC.

LA ANGLE: Crypto.com Arena hosts four potential Lakers home games over the next two weeks (G1, G2, G5, G7). Friday's Play-In finale also tips off at Crypto.com tonight (Suns vs. Warriors, 7 PT, Prime Video) with the 8 seed and a date with OKC on the line.

SCHEDULE VIA NBA.COM | PLAY-IN RECAP VIA NBA.COM STARTING 5

👑 JAMES: NBA quietly gifted LeBron James the edge Lakers need to stun the Rockets, via Lake Show Life

🐏 RAMS: Todd McShay shares intel on which WRs teams think Rams could target, via Rams Wire

⚡ CHARGERS: Chargers' last-second visit with possible Justin Herbert weapon is good news, via Sports Illustrated

B) 40. Pizza City Fest LA 2026 takes over L.A. LIVE on April 25 and 26, bringing 40 of Southern California's top pizzerias together for two days of wood-fired pies, dough-spinning demos, and industry talks with some of the best pizzaiolos in the country. Founded by acclaimed food critic and author Steve Dolinsky, the festival celebrates regional styles from Neapolitan to New York to Detroit and beyond, turning Downtown LA into pizza headquarters for one unforgettable weekend. 🍕