🎥 Outdoor movies, cannabis cafes, and community events.

Welcome to your weekly Valley update! Today is Thursday, October 3, 2024.

In this week’s NoHo Nick:

• 🎥 Independent cinema

• 🏡 Housing policy

• 🌿 Cannabis cafes

• ☕️ New coffee shop

• 🫂 Making new friends

Have you heard of Pasadena’s pee-pee bandit?

For years, a masked man has been leaving bottles of pee on the same electrical box on Colorado Blvd.

To prevent it from happening, the city installed a metal cage on top of the box to keep it clean.

However, the man smashed it with a crowbar and returned with more pee. This time, he wrote “Human pee” on the bottles.

Now, two internet filmmakers are trying to track down the man to understand his motivations while promising to keep his identity hidden.

Some neighbors theorize he’s sharing clean urine to pass drug tests.

Some believe it’s an art project.

Others say, “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.”

Here’s what’s happening this week:

LA News

🎥 Some independent movie theaters are thriving. Streaming may dominate, but local independent cinemas are enjoying a renaissance. Tarantino’s New Beverly, Netflix’s Egyptian Theater, and Eagle Theatre draw packed houses with classic reruns and special events (AP). We come to this place for magic.

🦠 Mpox cases on the rise in LA County. For four weeks, cases of mpox have more than doubled. 70% of new cases are among the unvaccinated. Health officials are urging at-risk communities to get vaccinated (LGBTQ Nation). Prevention beats infection.

📱 A Verizon outage left LA phones on SOS mode. This week, a nationwide Verizon outage disrupted service for over 100,000 customers. Verizon fixed the issue within a few hours and told people to restart their phones (NBC LA). It was just long enough for Ryan Reynolds to share 3 Mint Mobile commercials.

🏡 LA doubles down on single-family home zoning. The city voted to keep 72% of LA zoned for single-family homes, restricting new multi-unit construction to areas already zoned for apartments. Housing advocates say this won’t solve the affordability crisis. Homeowners, worried about property values, are relieved. (LAist) Can we all move into Vin Diesel’s house? He said we’re family.

🌿 Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes are coming in 2025. California dispensaries and lounges can now serve food and nonalcoholic drinks and host live music. The new law creates more opportunities for dispensaries that have dealt with complex business models and loopholes to stay afloat (LA Eater).

🎨 Burbank granted $48,000 to 16 local arts projects, including theatre, music, dance, and film. Many offer free or low-cost tickets (Burbank Newsroom).

Food and Drinks

☕ Valley Grounds Coffee (Sherman Oaks): The 818 has a new coffee shop on Ventura Blvd. Specialty lattes and gluten-free and vegan pastries. Try their signature Rose or Brown Sugar Lattes. Grab a quick pick-me-up. Or, stay to work for a few hours. It’s trendy.

🌭 Fat Dog (North Hollywood): After nearly a decade of serving pub grub in NoHo, Fat Dog is sadly closing on October 26, 2024. Stop by for one last cocktail or meal with your furry friend on the patio before they close for good. Rising costs and the effects of the pandemic made it challenging to continue.

🍽️ Weekly Dinner Series (Around LA): New in town? Meet new friends with Timeleft’s weekly dinners. Join other strangers in LA for a meal, meaningful conversations, and new connections. Fight big-city loneliness by breaking bread. Wednesday evenings. Locations vary. RSVP required.

🍕 Fratelli’s New York Pizza (Canoga Park): Voted the #1 pizza shop in Woodland Hills. 30+ years in business. High-quality ingredients and just the right balance of sauce and dough. Open daily from 11 AM to 9 PM.

Things to Do

🧵 Fabric Thrift Store (Chatsworth): Need fabric, notions, or crafting supplies? Quilting for Community’s thrift shop has quilting cotton, apparel fabric, and home decor. $3/yard fabric or fill-a-bag for $15-$35. They receive new donations daily. All of the proceeds support free quilting classes and community-building. Open daily at 10 AM.

👢 Line Dancing Night (Topanga): Grab your cowboy boots and prepare for line dancing fun at Pinstripes Topanga. Beginners are welcome. DJ is taking requests. Arrive early for discounts on food and drinks. No cover. Friday, October 4th, from 7 to 10 PM.

🍿 Outdoor Brewery Movie Nights (San Fernando): Grab popcorn, a cold brew, and a blanket at outdoor movie nights at San Fernando Brewing Company. Seating is limited and first come, first serve. Send a text to the number in the link to reserve a spot. New movies every month. Free. Various nights.

🎨 Open Studios of Topanga (Topanga Canyon): Explore the creative spaces of 40+ local artists. Take a self-led tour of artists' homes and studios, each offering a unique glimpse into their work and process. Live music and on-site portrait artists. $35. October 5 and 6 at 5 PM.

🎥 Outdoor Dinner & Halloween Cinema (Topanga Canyon): Enjoy a scary evening under the stars with dinner and screenings of The Sixth Sense, IT, and Nightmare Before Christmas: complimentary appetizers, games, mocktails, photo booths, blankets, and popcorn. A full dinner menu is also available for purchase. $45. Wednesdays in October at 6:30 PM.

🚶‍♀️ Hot Girl Walk LA (Santa Monica): Get moving on a 2-mile community walk that's about good vibes and inclusivity. Hit your 10,000 steps and meet other local women. Wheelchair and stroller-friendly, starting and ending at the same spot. Pink attire is encouraged but not mandatory. Dress comfy. Limited spots. Free. RSVP required. Sunday, October 6 at 8:30 AM.

🍻 Burbank Young Professionals Meetup (Burbank): Join fellow young entrepreneurs and local business owners for an evening of networking and growth hosted in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce. Discover upcoming free business workshops and events while supporting a local bar. Free. Monday, October 7 at 5:30 PM.

Cute Home Alert

🏡 Charming Reseda Home: 3-bed, 2-bath home with curb appeal and freshly resurfaced hardwood floors. The kitchen and main bath are remodeled, and the living room has a cozy fireplace. The massive backyard feels like a forest. Large patio and freshly painted garage. Near CSUN, Ventura Blvd., and plenty of markets and restaurants. $799,950

Random

🚗 The DMV knowledge test is no longer required for drivers aged 70+.

🥖 Check out these LA restaurants with complimentary bread baskets.

See you next week!

NoHo Nick

PS: The Tolucan Times, a print newspaper founded in 1958, has been revived under new ownership after a hiatus. Their October issue drops on Friday, October 4.

PPS: NoHo Nick is on Instagram now.

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