🌱 Konbi Closed Despite Popularity + Own The Hillside House On Stilts

Hello again, friends! Today, we treat ourselves on National Chocolate Mint Day. It's Sunday in Los Angeles, and I'm back in your inbox to get you caught up on the most important things happening in town, including news on:

• 🔥 A deadly motorhome fire
• 👮 The quick capture of three robbers
• 💰 An appeal to the EPA to help clean up in Vernon

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🌤️ But first, today's weather:

Sunshine and some clouds. High: 68 Low: 47.

Business owners and marketers in Los Angeles: Do you want to build awareness with local customers? I have a limited number of sponsorships available to introduce our readers to local businesses they need to know. Click here to learn more.

⛽ Three of the Cheapest Gas Stations in the City of Los Angeles

• ARCO at 2740 E Olympic Blvd., $4.25
• Sinaco Oil at 11305 Santa Monica Blvd., $4.29
• Valero at 615 W Florence Ave., $4.35

🍰 Spring Dessert Poll! 🍓
The first day of spring is March 20! Among the things we look forward to in spring are refreshing desserts. Which is your favorite spring dessert? So far, 16.7% each favor mixed berry buckle, fruit tarts, peach cobbler, and our write-in: key lime pie. 33.3% reach for the ambrosia salad.

📰 Here are the top stories today in Los Angeles:

1. On Saturday, the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) responded to calls of a burning motorhome near 13799 West Jefferson Boulevard. They arrived to find it engulfed in flames on the shoulder of the road to Playa del Rey. While putting out the fire, “a lifeless adult male was discovered in the vehicle” who was determined to be beyond medical help. (LAFD)
2. Be careful when you meet with unknown buyers you connected with online. A Van Nuys watch seller was robbed by a prospective buyer. Both connected on social media, agreed to a make a deal at the seller’s house, and things went south from there. The suspect rolled up in a black BMW four-door sedan and, when the watch was offered, two more men got out of the car and robbed the seller. The good news is that the police solved the case in a short three hours, recovered the watch, found a couple of loaded guns, and booked three people — two juveniles and a 21-year-old man — for robbery. (Fox)
3. Who’s cleaning up Vernon’s soil, contaminated by a former battery recycling plant? Exide Technologies, which took over from 2000 to 2015, filed for bankruptcy. California spent “$336 million to remediate nearly 4,400 properties,” but another 5,000 or so are waiting. Also, researchers showed that soil in at least 73 of 93 remediated homes still had chemical concentrations well above the legal limits. On Thursday, California representatives asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for help. (KTLA)
4. Why did Konbi close its 1463 Sunset Boulevard and Culver City locations late last month? When giving an interview after the closure, the owners didn’t mince words. Sure, the pandemic didn’t help. But what really caused the downfall were “hurdles (that) made running a small business in California untenable.” For Konbi, “the compounded costs of rent and labor” made for margins that weren’t sustainable. (bon appétit)
5. The current owners of the property at 1219 Dodds Circle bought the home for $289,500 in 2003. Now, it’s on the market again, but for $1.6 million. What makes the 2,000 square-foot home so valuable? For starters, it’s known as the hillside home on stilts. Besides that, it was the backdrop for movies such as "the 1995 action hit 'Heat.'" Also, you can’t argue with the hillside view of Catalina, the Hollywood Sign and the city skyline. (Fox)

📆 Today in Los Angeles:

• Visit Tatcha's Immersive Forest Pop-Up Experience at The Grove (11 AM)
• Head to the Angel City Brewery for the Broken Hearts Circus (12 PM)
• Be amazed by the "Vertical Stage: Aerial Dance Performance" at the Fairmont Century Plaza (1 PM)
• Hear Los Cenzontles & Los Originarios del Plan perform at the Getty Center (3 PM)
• The Three Clubs host a Sing-Along Movie Experience (like the Rocky Horror) for "The Blues Brothers" (7 PM)

🖊️ From my notebook:

• "We & CalMHSA are excited to open a grant opportunity to promote mental health, well-being & community connection. Applications are accepted through Mar. 3, 2023, 5 p.m. Pacific Time." (LA County Dept of Mental Health)
• "LA County's Economic Opportunity Grant program will award more than $54 million in grants to small & microbusinesses, and non-profits impacted by the pandemic. Check eligibility and apply at http://grants.lacounty.gov." (Los Angeles County)
• "Monthly billing is here! Level Pay is a new, convenient monthly bill payment option that helps you budget for your LADWP bill and pay off past due amounts." (LADWP)
• "WLA Patrol Officers and our Metro Mounted Team conducted high visibility patrol in the Pico-Robertson neighborhoods, which will continue throughout the weekend. We are proud to protect and serve our wonderful community." (LAPD - West Los Angeles)
• "Every year, the City of Los Angeles receives over $100 million from four federal grants to benefit lower-income residents by improving communities with affordable housing, parks, street lighting, services for the homeless, and many other activities. To learn more, view the current Annual Action Plan." (Community Investment for Families Department)

🏡 What are homes selling for these days in Los Angeles?

• Median Listing Home Price $1.1M
• Median Listing Home Price/Square Foot $658
• Median Sold Home Price $885K

Check out more Los Angeles real estate information!

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Featured events:

• Hunker House Black Spaces Pop-up Showroom (February 19)
• Celebrating Black Culture in Design (February 23)
• Free Wills vs. Trust Webinar (February 23)
• Wills vs. Trust (February 23)
• Real Estate basic Training Boot Camp (February 25)
• Love to Party for Good Enjoy French Treats Enter Creative Writing Contest Win $100 Gift Card (March 4)
• Add your event

You're all caught up for today. I'll see you around!

— Sylvia Cochran

About me: Sylvia Cochran works out of sunny Southern California and has been freelance writing full-time since 2005. She loves dogs, cats, books, plays Best Fiends (don't judge), embraces social justice, and tries to live out Micah 6:8.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Los Angeles Patch newsletter? Contact me at losangeles@patch.com