🔥 Malibu fires, new Trader Joe's, dog Xmas.

Welcome to your weekly Valley update! Today is Thursday, December 12, 2024.

In this week’s NoHo Nick:

• 🔥 Malibu wildfires

• 🌮 New night market

• 🍕 Unique pizza

• 🚗 Bad driving

Have you heard of rent shaming?

It happens when landlords post mediocre apartments on Facebook Marketplace for astronomical prices.

For example, $4,600/mo for a one-bedroom place in Venice. Or $2,200/mo for an ADU in Woodland Hills.

Renters upset by these prices flood the listings with negative comments, ridicule, and poop emojis.

One renter commented, “Take your ADU and firmly insert it into your a**.”

One solution to these high prices could be living in a shopping mall.

Some old malls around California are being converted into apartments as “live, work, and shop” spaces.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we all lived in the Northridge Fashion Center? Or the Westfield in Sherman Oaks?

On the one hand, parking would be a breeze.

On the other, I’d also probably eat Auntie Anne’s pretzels for dinner every night.

But it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

Here’s what’s happening this week:

LA News

🔥 Fires rage in Malibu. The Franklin Fire has burned over 4,000 acres across Malibu with only 7% containment. 20,000 people are in harm’s way, and 8,000 have been told to evacuate. Strong Santa Ana winds up to 80 mph are fueling the flames. Some structures have been destroyed, and parts of Malibu are under shelter-in-place orders. (CBS)

🚐 Metro Micro extended to 2027. L.A. Metro offers an on-demand ride service called Metro Micro. An “Uber-lite,” if you will. It’s been a test project for a while. Just $2.50 per ride. After shaking things up internally, the program figured out how to continue operating in North Hollywood, UCLA, and Compton for three more years. Book a ride. (LAist) Should your Uber rating show up on your dating profile?

🚗 California ranks third in the nation for worst drivers. Crashes, DUIs, and speeding violations were measured. Massachusetts and Rhode Island took the top spots overall. But California led the nation in DUI rates and is tied for the second-highest accident rate. (KTLA) Last summer, I saw a guy on a Lime scooter in the HOV lane on the 101.

🥦 Three new Trader Joe’s in the Valley will open next year in Sherman Oaks, Northridge, and Tarzana. These stores are among eight new Southern California locations planned. Trader Joe's recently added stores in South Pasadena and Canyon Country. (Patch) Aka Trader Giotto’s parking fiascos.

Valley Weekend Weather

The high this weekend is 64 °F. Think of it as an “Irish summer.”

Food and Drinks

🍪 Cookie Cafe (Agoura Hills): A new homemade cookie shop is coming soon to Agoura Hills. Initially known as Cookies by Heather, the new cookie cafe will sell single cookies and large trays. It will also serve comfort food like chicken pot pies, soups, and quiche alongside old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies. (They’ve been perfecting the best chocolate chip cookie for 40 years.)

🍕 Endless Color Pizza (Topanga): A delightful menu featuring gourmet pizzas like Potato & Truffle, Cacio e Pepe with Winter Truffles, and the Young Italian Stallion. Starters include Peaches with Prosciutto & Burrata. Handmade pastas, including Spaghetti & Meatballs and Pine Nut Pesto.

Things to Do

🎄 Christmas Lights Map (Around LA): Discover SoCal’s best Christmas lights and events on this holiday map.

✨ Studio City Holiday Night Market (Studio City): The 2nd Annual Holiday Night Market features dozens of local vendors, tasty treats, and festive street vibes. There will be challah, cakes, and food trucks. It's good for holiday shopping and learning about our local businesses. Free. Thursday, December 12, from 5 PM to 9 PM.

🐶 Dog Christmas Party (North Hollywood): Idle Hour hosts a “Howliday” party for puppies and people. It will feature festive treats for your furry friends, specialty holiday cocktails for humans, and photos with Santa for the dogs (and humans, too). Proceeds will support the Animal Rescue Mission. Saturday, December 14, from 1 PM to 3 PM.

🌋 Lord of the Rings New Year’s Eve (Burbank): One fling to rule them all. Ring in the New Year with a LotR celebration featuring trivia, cocktails, and an extended edition watch party. Tickets include an open bar, themed drinks, a midnight champagne toast, and entry into the trivia contest. Hobbits and Elves are welcome. $65. December 31 at 7 PM.

🚶 New Year’s Eve Hike (Griffith Park). Join the 5 AM Crew for their annual sunrise hike on New Year’s Eve. It’s a 6-mile roundtrip hike up to a beautiful sunrise and breathtaking view of LA from Griffith Park. Bring a flashlight, sweater, hiking boots, and water. Start the new year with dozens of new friends. Thursday, December 31 at 4:30 AM.

🌒 New Los Feliz Night Market (Los Feliz): Every Tuesday and Wednesday is a vibrant evening of street food, live music and DJs, and unique merchandise. Pizza, tacos, hot dogs, and sweet treats. New street market in Los Feliz. Family friendly. Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 PM to 11 PM

🎨 New Arts and Crafts Studio (Sherman Oaks): A colorful, spacious haven for creative fun in the Westfield Mall at TutuFun. There's something for everyone, from rug tufting to pouring art and general crafts. Great for family outings, date nights, or birthdays. About $50 per person for each project.

Holiday Gift Guide

Are you trying to find small businesses to support this holiday?

Aum and Garden is a Sherman Oaks store specializing in gifts for your inner and outer “garden.”

Statues for your actual garden, candles for your home, and books for your soul.

Unique gifts for your spiritual friends.

Volunteer Opportunity

Looking for ways to make a direct impact in your community?

Ace of Hearts rescues dogs from shelters as they continue to look for a forever home.

Ace of Hearts needs help driving dogs to vet appointments, giving them medication, and taking them for joy rides.

Share your schedule, and the charity will let you know if you can help one of their pets.

Cute Home Alert

🏡 Charming Pacoima Gem: This well-maintained 3-bedroom, 1-bathroom home features 1,096 sqft of coziness. It has rustic cedar wood walls and a big bonus room for an office or studio. $689,000.

Random

🚃 L.A. Metro unveiled some brand-new train cars, and they look great.

🏘️ L.A. YIMBY is a site documenting all the new multi-family units built around town.

🌱 Evolectric, a new startup, is retrofitting trucks to use electricity instead of diesel at the end of their lifecycle.

Trivia

❓️Seven companies own 3% of all land in California. Which company is the largest non-governmental landowner in the state?

Hint: They own 1.74 million acres.

Last week’s question: Walmart was founded in 1962 in Arkansas. What year did Walmart first open in Los Angeles?

Answer: 1998 in Panorama City.

Thanks for reading, and see you next week!

PS #FreeLuigi

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