Steven Blum

Portugal

words: @vice, @gqmagazine, @wired, @nbcnews, @lamag, @thedailybeast, @wearemel, @them, @thestranger, @masterclass, @billboard and the bible.

Articles

Valley Fever: Wasting Away in Lagerville

1 month ago | montecitojournal.net | Steven Blum

Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co.’s Buellton digs serve as basecamp for Lagerville 2025, perhaps the nation’s premier and largest craft lager festival, boasting more than 65 breweries from across the country pouring their best lagers – the bottom-fermented beer that’s brewed at a low temperature and aged to create a crisp, clean and refreshing quaff.
Gardening with Rachmaninoff

2 months ago | montecitojournal.net | Steven Blum

ETC’s Rachmaninoff and the Tsar comes to the New Vic from April 3-20 (photo by Hershey Felder Presents)Pianist-actor-playwright-producer Hershey Felder has appeared on stages across the world more than 6,000 times in original works focused on a single famous composer. His works include George Gershwin Alone, Beethoven, Maestro Bernstein, Hershey Felder as Irving Berlin, Our Great Tchaikovsky, and A Paris Love Story – Debussy.
Engulfed

Jan 8, 2025 | stevenblum.substack.com | Steven Blum

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Centennial Celebration

Apr 8, 2024 | montecitojournal.net | Steven Blum

Centennial Celebration The Granada’s Centennial Festival celebrates all eras of the historic entertainment house (photo courtesy of The Granada Celebrating 100 Years of the Arts in Santa Barbara) Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow worked well as a title for a 1990s greatest hits album by Santa Barbara’s still thriving singer-songwriter Kenny Loggins, and no reason why it shouldn’t serve superbly as a way to celebrate the Granada Theater’s big anniversary over a single weekend April 12-14. Looking...
The Abbey, iconic West Hollywood gay bar, at the center of disturbing claims

Jan 24, 2024 | knock-la.com | Kate Sosin |Steven Blum

Many maintain that The Abbey, one of the country’s most popular LGBTQ+ bars, is the site of the most disorienting experience of their lives. This story was originally published by The 19th. Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault and druggings. One of the reporters who worked on this investigation had a disorienting experience at The Abbey years ago. One of her last clear memories of that night was of a barback handing something to the bartender.
A Vigil And A Dance Party

Jan 21, 2024 | laist.com | Kate Sosin |Steven Blum |Kristen Hwang |Carolyn Jones

Topline: Survivors of a mass shooting in Monterey Park took part in a dance party on the anniversary in defiance of the attack on their ballroom dance community to which they belong. A particularly poignant moment came when survivors of the shooting performed to the same Chinese song they danced to the night of the shooting. The backstory: On Jan. 21, 2023, a gunman attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, killing 11 people and injuring nine.
Monterey Park Roundtable

Jan 21, 2024 | laist.com | Kate Sosin |Steven Blum |Kristen Hwang |Carolyn Jones

Topline: National, state and local leaders convened in Monterey Park for the one-year anniversary of the deadliest mass shooting in Los Angeles county history. Speakers, who included council members, Congressmember Judy Chu and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, honored the victims and spoke about the need for Congress to pass stricter gun control laws. The backstory: On Jan. 21, 2023, a gunman attacked the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, killing 11 people and injuring nine.
Covid Isolation Rule

Jan 21, 2024 | laist.com | Kristen Hwang |Carolyn Jones |Kate Sosin |Steven Blum

Californians infected with COVID-19 may go about their lives without isolating or testing negative as long as their symptoms are improving, according to new and significantly loosened guidelines from the California Department of Public Health. Why now: The new health order allows Californians with COVID-19 to return to work or school as long as their symptoms are improving and they are fever-free for 24 hours without medication.
Tiny Coffee Shop

Jan 20, 2024 | laist.com | Kristen Hwang |Carolyn Jones |Kate Sosin |Steven Blum

Topline: With high inflation and rising costs, it's getting harder and harder to run a restaurant in Los Angeles. So why would anyone want to take the plunge? Why now: For Jocelyn Todd, a baker who's worked in LA's restaurant industry for more than a decade, food is what she knows and loves. In December, Todd opened a tiny little coffee shop in El Sereno. "It's 8 square feet by 8 square feet," she said.
A night they can't remember, at one of the country's most popular LGBTQ+ bars

Jan 17, 2024 | advocate.com | Steven Blum

Editor’s note: This story is co-published with The 19th. It contains descriptions of sexual assault and druggings. One of the reporters who worked on this investigation had a disorienting experience at The Abbey years ago. One of her last clear memories of that night was of a barback handing something to the bartender. Yvette Lopez recalled looking to her right before taking the first sip of her drink. Another barback was sitting there with a plastic cup with a lid on it.