Los Angeles, Ca
Metrolink to make significant service increase this fall
More trains, optimized schedules
Southern California passenger rail service Metrolink is making a major expansion this fall, significantly increasing the number of trains in service and optimizing arrival and departure times to reduce the time spent waiting to transfer.
On Friday, the Metrolink Board of Directors approved its 2025 fiscal year budget, which includes a plan to increase the number of trains in service by about 30% across the entire Metrolink system.
At a media event held at Union Station, Metrolink CEO Darren Kettle, fresh off inking an extension to remain in that position through 2029, said the expanded service is meant to attract more riders who may view the service as something only used by commuters.
“I call it the first step in our transformation from commuter railroads to regional passenger railroad,” Kettle said.
The decision to target more recreational riders was made in part due to challenges that came from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ridership took a nosedive to about 10% during the pandemic due to stay-at-home orders and more people working from home. Kettle says the latter appears to be a permanent shift in the nation, and if Metrolink wants more people to use the service, it’ll need to become a more attractive transit option for riders who aren’t just going to and from work.
“The world changed four years ago. And, you know, we’re all trying to figure out, how do we adapt to the new workforce situation, but not just rely on that?” Kettle said. He added that any transit agency focused solely on commuters will likely have a long, challenging road to recovery.
“We used to get some 40-plus percent of our revenues from fares, today we get about 13% of our revenues from fares,” he said. Metrolink’s county partners, as well as the federal government, have helped carry some of the burden from the loss of revenue.
But rather than focusing on getting back to pre-pandemic ridership numbers, Metrolink is viewing the sharp decline as a new baseline, with the only way to go being up.
Kettle, who lives in Ventura County and rides the train on days when he’s not working from home, said the biggest request he’s received from fellow riders is more regular service.
“We do surveys and ask questions and just unsolicited feedback is, ‘Give us more trains.’ So that’s what we’re going to do,” Kettle said. “We’re gonna get more trains.”
The Orange County and San Bernardino lines were two specific parts of Metrolink’s system that Kettle said will experience “significant” service increases. A similar service increase was implemented last year on the Antelope Valley line.
Metrolink will also roll out a new concept in which trains won’t always run an entire service route from end to end; some will go back and forth more frequently between regions with more demand.
In addition to more trains, Metrolink is adjusting its schedules to make it easier for riders to make transfers without having to wait for long periods of time.
Right now, someone who arrives at Union Station from one of the Metrolink lines may have to wait an hour or longer to transfer to another.
“Pulse scheduling,” as its called in the transit industry, will significantly cut the wait times for transfers by modifying arrival and departure times so they are more closely aligned with other trains. Metrolink says someone making a transfer in Union Station will likely have to wait less than 20 minutes to make a transfer from one line to another.
As Metrolink pointed out earlier this year, a theoretical trip between Burbank and Tustin beginning at 8:30 a.m. would take more than six hours, because there currently isn’t a train to Tustin out of Union Station until 2 in the afternoon.
When pulse scheduling goes into effect, that trip could be cut down to 90 minutes with a transfer taking less than 20 minutes. A fictional trip between downtown Pomona and Van Nuys using similar parameters would also a dramatic drop in total trip time.
The specific launch date for increased trains was not immediately released, but Kettle said he expected it to go into effect in late October. An exact breakdown of when and where trains will be deployed has yet to be finalized, with Metrolink officials saying a full plan could be approved by July or August.
Metrolink hopes that more train frequency and shorter transfer windows will help reinvigorate previous riders and bring in more first-timers.
In addition to service modifications, Metrolink says it sees other areas to grow, including on its San Bernardino Line, which includes a stop in Rancho Cucamonga immediately adjacent to a planned station for Brightline West — the high-speed train system that will connect Southern California with Las Vegas.
Metrolink’s popular Student Adventure Pass Program, which allows any student from kindergarten through grad school to ride throughout the entire system for free, was also renewed as part of the 2025 budget.
Los Angeles, Ca
'The Brutalist,' 'Emilia Perez' triumph at Golden Globes
Two wildly audacious films — Brady Corbet’s 215-minute postwar epic “The Brutalist” and Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language, genre-shifting trans musical “Emilia Perez” — won top honors at the 82nd Golden Globes on Sunday.
The Globes, which are still finding their footing after years of scandal and makeover, scattered awards around to a number of films. But the awards group put its strongest support behind a pair of movies that sought to defy easy categorization.
“The Brutalist” was crowned best film, drama, putting one of 2024’s most ambitious films on course to be a major contender at the Academy Awards. The film, shot in VistaVision and released with an intermission, also won best director for Corbet and best actor for Adrien Brody. In his acceptance speech, Corbet spoke about filmmakers needing approval on the final cut.
“I was told that this film was un-distributable,” said Corbet. “No one was asking for a three-and-half-hour film about a mid-century designer in 70mm. But it works.”
“Emilia Pérez” won best film, comedy or musical, elevating the Oscar chances of Netflix’s top contender. It also won best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña, best song (“El Mal”) and best non-English language film. Audiard, the French director, made way for Karla Sofía Gascón, the film’s transgender star who plays a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender affirming surgery, to speak on behalf of the film.
“The light always wins over darkness,” said Gascón, gesturing to her brightly orange dress. “You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up. But you never can take away our soul or existence or identity.”
“I am who I am. Not who you want.”
Demi wins her first Globe
Though the Globes audience was particularly starry, including nominees Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet, Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig, most of the winners hailed from smaller, less seen films.
That included some surprises. One was Demi Moore’s win for best actress in a comedy or musical. Her comeback performance in “The Substance,” about a Hollywood star who resorts to an experimental process to regain her youth, landed the 62-year-old Moore her first Globe — a victory that came over the heavily favored Mikey Madison of “Anora.”
“I’m just in shock right now. I’ve been doing this a long time, like over 45 years, and this is the first thing I’ve ever won as an actor,” said Moore, who was last nominated by the Globes for a film role in 1991 for “Ghost.” “Thirty years ago, I had a producer tell me that I was a popcorn actress.”
Best actress, in a drama film, was an even bigger surprise. The Brazilian actress Fernanda Torres won for her performance in “I’m Still Here,” a based-on-a-true-story drama about a family living through the disappearance of political dissident Rubens Paiva in 1970s Rio de Janeiro. Torres dedicated the award to her mother, the great actor Fernanda Montenegro, who appears in “I’m Still Here,” too.
“She was here 25 years ago,” said Torres. “And this is like a proof that art can endure through life even through difficult moments.”
Best supporting actor in a musical or comedy went to Sebastian Stan for “A Different Man,” in which Stan plays a man with a deformed face who’s healed. Stan, who was also nominated for playing Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” noted that both films were hard to get made.
“These are tough subject maters but these films are real and they’re necessary,” said Stan. “But we can’t be afraid and look away.”
Glaser lightly roasts the Globes
Comedian Nikki Glaser kicked off the Globes, with a promise: “I’m not here to roast you.”
But Glaser, a stand-up whose breakthrough came in a withering roast of Tom Brady, made her way around the ballroom of the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on Sunday picking out plenty of targets in an opening monologue she had worked out extensively in comedy clubs beforehand.
While Glaser might not have reached Tina Fey and Amy Poehler levels of laughs, the monologue was a winner, and a dramatic improvement over last year’s host, Jo Koy. Last year’s Globes, following a diversity and ethics scandal that led to the dissolution of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, were widely panned. But they delivered where it counted: Ratings rebounded to about 10 million viewers, according to Nielsen. CBS, who waded in after NBC dumped the Globes, signed up for five more years.
Hosting the Globes two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump, Glaser reserved perhaps her most cutting line for the entire room of Hollywood stars.
“You could really do anything … except tell the country who to vote for,” said Glaser. “But it’s OK, you’ll get ’em next time … if there is one. I’m scared.”
The Globes are now owned by Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions, which acquired the award show from the now defunct Hollywood Foreign Press Association. However, more than a dozen former HFPA members are currently seeking to have the sale to Eldridge Industries and Dick Clark Productions rescinded.
A win for ‘Wicked’
Unlike last year’s Oscar race, when “Oppenheimer” rolled, this year’s season has more uncertain, with a field of contenders. Most of the movies that are seen as having a chance — “Conclave,” “Emilia Perez,” “The Brutalist,” “Wicked” and “Anora” — came away with at least one award Sunday. The exception was Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or-winning “Anora,” which went home empty handed despite five nominations.
The Globes’ award for cinematic and box-office achievement went to Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked,” which has nearly collected $700 million in theaters. In a heavily arthouse Oscar field, “Wicked” is easily the biggest hit in the best picture mix. Accepting the award, Chu argued for “a radical act of optimism” in art.
Though few awards have been predictable this season, Kieran Culkin is emerging has the clear favorite for best supporting actor. Culkin won Sunday for his performance in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” his second Globe in the past year following a win for the HBO series “Succession.” He called the Globes “basically the best date night that my wife and I ever have,” and then thanked her for “putting up what you call my mania.”
The papal thriller “Conclave” took best screenplay, for Peter Straughan’s script. “Flow,” the wordless Latvian animated parable about a cat in a flooded world, took best animated film, winning over studio blockbusters like “Inside Out 2” and “The Wild Robot.” Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross won best score for their thumping music for “Challengers.”
TV prizes
Most of the TV winners were oft-awarded series, including the Emmy champ “Shōgun.” It won four awards, including best drama series and acting wins for Hiroyuki Sanada, Anna Sawai and Tadanobu Asano. Other repeat winners were: “Hacks” (best comedy series, actress for Jean Smart), “The Bear” (Jeremy Allen White for best actor) and “Baby Reindeer” (best limited series).
Ali Wong won for best stand-up performance, Jodie Foster for “True Detective” and Colin Farrell for his physical transformation in “The Penguin.”
“I guess it’s prosthetics from here on out,” said Farrell.
___
For more coverage of the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/golden-globe-awards
Los Angeles, Ca
Deputy patrolling Southern California casino finds man with container of suspected meth at bus stop
A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department deputy assigned to patrol the Yaamava’ Resort & Casino at San Manuel arrested a man he found to be in possession of a container of suspected methamphetamine at a bus stop Saturday night.
According to an SBSD release, Deputy E. Gonzalez conducted a pedestrian check on a subject standing at a bus stop near the intersection of Lynwood Drive and San Manuel Boulevard, south of the casino itself, shortly after 9:45 p.m.
The subject, Walace Boyd, was found to be in possession of a plastic container containing suspected methamphetamine, the sheriff’s department said.
A records check revealed Boyd, 65, had multiple convictions for drug-related offenses. He was arrested for possession of a hard drug treatment mandated felony in accordance with the recently passed Proposition 36.
Boyd, a Fontana resident, was booked into the Central Detention Center Jail with a $30,000 bail.
Anyone with further information that can aid the investigation is asked to contact Deputy Gonzalez of the Central Sheriff’s Station by calling 909-387-3545.
Callers wishing to remain anonymous can call the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463), or leave information on the We-Tip Hotline at www.wetip.com.
Los Angeles, Ca
Orange County family mourns great-grandmother killed by DUI driver
A beloved great-grandmother was driving home from church services early morning on Jan. 1, her family said, when she was hit head-on by a DUI driver and later died in the hospital.
“She was only 10 more minutes away from making it home safely,” the victim’s family members wrote on a GoFundMe page. “She left us praising the lord until her last day.”
The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. at Marguerite Parkway and Pueblonuevo Drive in Mission Viejo, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
The driver, 26-year-old Geraldine Caicedo-Perez, is now facing DUI and gross vehicular manslaughter charges – meanwhile, family members of the victim, 66-year-old Ynes Lagunes-Soto, are mourning her tragic passing.
“The lady was my mother and I am very sad because she didn’t deserve to die, to be killed by that person who wasn’t well,” the victim’s daughter, Monica Lagunes, told KTLA’s Chris Wolfe.
Family members said Lagunes-Soto, who lived in San Juan Capistrano and worked for 25 years as a housekeeper, always put family first and was happiest surrounded by her many loved ones.
“For me, it is something that I will not get over and I am very angry with the person who caused this accident,” said Lagunes. “I would want them to pay for everything that they did.”
According to the sheriff’s department, Caicedo-Perez is being held at the Orange County Jail. Her bail and next court date were not immediately made available.
“We’re maintaining our faith,” said Lagunes-Soto’s grandson, Emmanuel Heredia. “I think God has a plan for us and for her as well.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the deadly collision and said anyone with information or evidence should contact the department.
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