Wednesday, December 6, 2023
LA City Council backs a ban on rodeos, with exceptions Susanne Rust and Dakota Smith Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban rodeos in the city despite opposition by some in L.A.’s Latino equestrian community, who painted the crackdown as an attack on their culture. Councilmember Bob Blumenfield, who represents the west San Fernando Valley, led the council in passing the ban, describing in graphic detail the broken bones and pain endured by rodeo animals. The vote, 14 to 0 with Councilmember Nithya Raman absent, asks the city attorney’s office to draft an ordinance outlawing rodeos in the city. Just before the vote, Blumenfield introduced an amendment that was cosponsored by the most public opponent of the measure, Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, who represents the east Valley. The amendment attempted to assuage concerns that the ban would prevent cultural events, such as charrería, which is popular in Mexico, as well as the Bill Pickett rodeo, a national event for Black riders scheduled for February in the City of Industry. It carved out exceptions for eques-
trian and cultural events, including charrería, as long as participants didn’t engage in events where there is bareback bronc riding, saddle bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling, team roping or “other events or activities that involves physically taking down an animal, roping an animal, or attempting to ride a bucking animal.” Rodriguez appeared at a rally opposing the ban just before the council meeting where dozens of rodeo aficionados — some on horses, some wearing traditional rodeo attire — trotted up and down Main Street. At a news conference before the vote, Rodriguez said the proposed ordinance would be “far more inclusive and impactful to communities of color and cultural practices that have long been treasured here.” More than 100 people signed up to speak before the vote in council chambers, many wearing cowboy hats and boots. Jane Velez-Mitchell, a resident of Los Angeles, expressed outrage that concern for animals was pitted against cultural sensitivity. “I was appalled and assaulted and just baffled that pro-rodeo forces are trying to turn this into a cultural issue. As a proud Latina, I can tell you that I know that torture is not entertainment,” she said during the public comment period. See Rodeos on 6
Karlie Boothe The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban rodeos in the city despite opposition by some in L.A.’s Latino equestrian community, who painted the crackdown as an attack on their culture.
Tribune Content Agency Forest Therapy is a revamping of Forest Bathing, which became especially popular in the early days of the pandemic, when people sought refuge outdoors.
When your world feels out of control, can forest therapy help? Deborah Vankin and the grounds were in Japan in the ’80s. Los Angeles Times eerily quiet but for the Shinrin-yoku literally
whooshing of leaves in the wind and the intermittent trilling of wild parrots. The two-part LOS ANGELES -- It was a particularly class ($60 for members, $80 otherwise) chaotic time. As the war in the Middle East — led by forest therapy guide Debra Wilraged on, sparking bur over consecutive relentless and horSaturdays — promises rific news headlines, to help participants a family member “discover pathways to unexpectedly landed in the hospital here in restore emotional and physical well-being” California. Visits to Cedars-Sinai Medical during a guided nature Center, doomscrolling immersion. I was skeptical, and sleepless nights but game. Seeking refleft me drained. uge in nature is hardly Perhaps that’s new and need not be why an invitation to exclusive — why pay Forest Therapy — something I might have for it? And how was this therapy? previously dismissed Turns out, Forest as silly — piqued my curiosity. I’d have tried Therapy is a revamping of Forest Bathanything to slow the incessant whirl of con- ing, which became especially popular cerns in my head. in the early days of So on a recent the pandemic, when Saturday, I found myself laying in a cool, people sought refuge outdoors. The practice dewy patch of grass, — immersing oneself early in the morning, in nature, while utiin a lush palm grove lizing all the senses, at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, to promote mindfulness and reap calming and Botanical Gardens. The San Marino benefits — grew out of the Japanese pracgardens weren’t yet tice of shinrin-yoku, open to the public which was popularized
Holiday dough
translates to “forest bathing” — but that presented a branding problem when the practice picked up steam, decades later, in the U.S., Wilbur explains. “People had concerns: ‘do I need to wear a bathing suit in the woods?’” she says. So the term Forest Therapy is now more commonly used, though the trained practitioner is considered more of a guide and the forest, the actual therapist. Wilbur’s particular spin on the practice is heavily focused on “therapeutic circle sharing,” in which participants reflect, in groups, as they go along. “It’s intimate. It’s powerful. You’ll see,” she says, promising an experience that’s both communal and individualistic. About 18 of us show up for Wilbur’s class that Saturday for different reasons, but we’re all seeking the same thing: to get out of our heads and into the moment. To feel grounded and to slow down. See Forest on 7
Top 5 cookie doughs ranked Kennedy Thomason News & Lifestyle Editor
you like it with chocolate chips, pecans, peanut butter or way more sugar than the recipe calls for, making homemade dough brings a little bit of holiday joy into the kitchen. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia of baking alongside my mom in the Let’s be real, the best part of mak- kitchen or taking pride in my work, but ing cookies is the dough. it will always rank No. 1 for me. Pinching off little pieces while 2. Nestle Toll House I sat with my mom in the kitchen has This is a staple around my house always been my favorite holiday snack. for the holidays. Whenever we pack up Because of my years of experience as a and head to my grandpa’s house (where novice cookie dough tester, I have com- there are more people staying than plied a list of the best types to munch chairs), a package or two of Nestle Toll on. House chocolate chip cookie dough Here are my top five favorite makes the journey with us. cookie doughs: It’s easy to break off, each cookie 1. Homemade is the perfect snacking size and there There’s nothing better than a are plenty of chocolate chips in each fresh batch of homemade cookie dough, bite. especially during the holidays. Whether See Doughs on 5
File Photo Cookies, and cookie dough, are a staple for the holiday season.