WEST HOLLYWOOD—Eliot Preschutti, 52, has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. Authorities allege a dispute between Preschutti and another individual escalated into a physical altercation, during which Preschutti struck the individual with a shovel. The altercation reportedly occurred on Holloway Drive between Hancock and Westmount in West Hollywood, the WeHo Times first reported.

Preschutti was arrested by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s West Hollywood Station on Tuesday, August 4. He was booked on a felony allegation of attempted murder under California Penal Code Section 187(a). His bail is currently set at $2 million, and he remains in custody.

Preschutti is the founder of the Improv Academy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He has appeared in projects including The All Nighter Hour, The Gentleman Don La Mancha, and Banshee.

Preschutti has faced criminal charges involving alleged violence in the past. In 2008, while working as a drama instructor at Penn State, he was charged with felony aggravated assault, simple assault, harassment, and criminal mischief, following a report that he assaulted a former girlfriend.

In August 2009, he was charged with four counts of victim intimidation and one count of retaliation against a victim. He pleaded guilty to those charges and was sentenced to time served, along with a small fine and one day of community service.

If convicted as currently charged, Preschutti faces a range of 5-9 years in state prison if prosecutors do not allege the attack was premeditated. If a judge or jury finds the attack was willful, deliberate, and premeditated, he could instead face a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

By Milan Manesh

PACIFIC PALISADES—Following the Palisades Fire in January 2025, Palisades Village was forced to close amidst the destruction and heavy smoke damage. Saturday, August 15 at 10:30 a.m. will mark the grand reopening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an event-packed day.

Palisades Village is a walkable and open-air luxurious spot with shopping and dining options, and its return has been anticipated. The village is home to over 40 uniquely curated boutiques, entertainment, and fresh-food experiences.  

The grand opening event and ribbon-cutting ceremony are both open to the public and will feature various daytime festivities, shop openings, restaurant openings, as well as a special event finale. Palisades Village is located at 15225 Palisades Village Lane.

Daytime festivities are set to take place from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the special event finale set to begin at 8 p.m. Shops will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and restaurants will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Attendees can anticipate special grand opening offers from Palisades Village restaurants and boutiques including A.L.C Bar’s free gift with purchase for the first few guests, Diptyque offers personalized canvas totes, elysewalker offers “Palisades Forever” tote bags, champagne, DJ and photos, and Isabel Marant will feature specialty cocktails.

Denim brand PAIGE is offering multiple goodies including custom patches and embroidery by Rumi Lane and limited-edition Palisades merch with proceeds benefiting SteadFast LA, plus an exclusive Palisades Village tote bag. 

Popular clothing brand Reformation will give out farmers market totes and mini Erewhon green juices. Admission is free, and parking is complimentary. The parking garage opens at 9 a.m., while valet parking opens at 11 a.m.

By Ryley Metten

WESTWOOD—A suspicious package was found on the UCLA School of Law campus on Wednesday, August 5. The UCLA Police Department and the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene, and a corridor inside one of the law buildings was evacuated as a safety precaution.

Law enforcement indicated the package was isolated and that there is currently no threat to the public. The contents of the package and who it belonged to remain unknown at this stage. The investigation is ongoing.

This is not the first time a suspicious package has been reported on UCLA’s campus. In previous cases, similar incidents were resolved within 90 minutes to 150 minutes, after the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad determined the items were harmless.

The public was asked to avoid the location until authorities gave the clear. Updates on the investigation are expected to be shared through UCLA’s Bruin ALERT system and Bruins Safe Online.

By Milan Manesh

WEST HOLLYWOOD—Starting Friday, August 7, the city of West Hollywood announced individuals using dockless e-Bikes and e-Scooters in West Hollywood will be required to park devices in designated virtual parking locations throughout the region. These locations may be identified by users within the Lime app.

The changes are being implemented to encourage proper parking of e-Scooters and e-Bikes deployed by Lime, as well as improve accessibility for everyone and support better experiences for riders, businesses, pedestrians, and the broader community.

Dockless mobility devices, including those operated by Lime, provide convenient transportation options and support first-mile/last-mile connections to transit. To help ensure the devices remain vital to the community, riders will now be required to end trips using designated virtual parking locations identified for users within the Lime app. Trips cannot be completed unless a device is parked in one of these approved locations.

The designated virtual parking locations have been carefully selected based on available sidewalk space to accommodate both parked devices and pedestrian access. Riders should always park devices upright, out of the public right of way, and in a manner that does not block sidewalks, curb ramps, driveways, transit stops or building entrances.

West Hollywood and Lime are partnering on a public awareness effort encouraging safe and responsible use and parking for dockless mobility devices. Information will be shared through public service announcements displayed on the city’s digital transit shelters and pedestrian kiosks, which are located throughout West Hollywood.

West Hollywood will launch a high-visibility enforcement program focused on proper parking and safe operation of dockless mobility devices.

The city’s Transportation and Mobility Division is continuously evaluating the program and is seeking to identify additional parking locations. Current and prospective Lime riders may submit requests for additional parking locations using the city’s Engage WeHo portal. Submissions will be reviewed by city staff for impacts to accessibility and, where applicable, a designated zone will be added, which will be viewable to users on the Lime app.

Community members may use West Hollywood’s Service Requests webpage to report an issue involving a dockless e-bike or e-scooter, including an improperly parked or abandoned device. Visit www.weho.org/servicerequest or download the Official City of West Hollywood App on iPhone or Android.

By Danny Jones

BEVERLY HILLS—The city of Beverly Hills announced on Tuesday, August 3 that individuals can nominate them today for the Embrace Civility Award.

The city of Beverly Hills Health and Human Relations Commission honors an outstanding individual who demonstrates and promotes positive civil behavior with the annual Embrace Civility Award.

The award is given to a community member who exemplifies one or more of the following attributes:

-Acts as a role model of positive behavior.
-Takes a stand in support of respect and responsible actions.
-Promotes positive neighbor-to-neighbor relations.

The recipient is recognized by the Beverly Hills City Council at its meeting (usually in October). All nominees are recognized by the Health and Human Relations Commission.

The Embrace Civility Award is part of the ongoing, award winning Embrace Civility program, which promotes positive human relationships in all aspects of community life. The program started in 2010 when the importance of embracing civility integrated the principles of civility, respect and responsible action into daily business at Beverly Hills City Hall and municipal election proceedings

The recipient will be recognized by the Beverly Hills City Council at an October 2026 meeting, and by the Commission.

Submit a nomination at www.beverlyhills.org/embracecivilityaward before the deadline on Monday, August 31.

By Danny Jones

WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Tuesday, August 3, the city of West Hollywood announced that it is alerting the public about the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Community Emergency Response Team (“CERT”) is presenting CERT Training.

West Hollywood CERT Training is free and will take place from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, September 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, and 22, at Plummer Park’s Great Hall, located at 7377 Santa Monica Boulevard. Space is limited and expected to fill quickly.

Participants must register in advance and attend all sessions to receive a certificate of completion. To register for CERT Training visit the LA County Fire Department CERT training website.

Following a disaster, police, fire, and medical professionals may not be able to meet the immediate demand for emergency medical attention. Residents and neighbors may need to rely upon one another to help with immediate life-saving needs. CERT Training was developed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide basic fire safety and life-saving skills.

CERT Training participants will learn valuable survival skills, including disaster preparedness, terrorism, disaster fire suppression, disaster psychology, disaster medical operations, light search and rescue, team organization, and drill simulation can be vital in the immediate aftermath of a major disaster.

For more information contact the city’s Public Safety Division at (323) 848-6414 or at safety@weho.org. For people who are Deaf or hard of hearing dial 711 or 1-800-735-2929 (TTY) or 1-800-735-2922 (voice) for California Relay Service (CRS) assistance.

By Danny Jones

SANTA MONICA—On Tuesday, August 4, the city of Santa Monica announced that the Santa Monica City Council approved the establishment of a Housing Focused System of Care, a locally controlled model gives the city direct authority over homeless services from street outreach through permanent housing.

“Rather than relying on others to coordinate our homeless response activities, Santa Monica is choosing instead to build a system we control, so no one falls through the cracks between agencies,” said Mayor Caroline Torosis. “This is what it looks like to take responsibility for both our neighbors and our neighborhoods at the same time.”

The plan replaces Santa Monica’s reliance on the county-run system with a new program built around four linked priorities, including 1) local prioritization to place people connected to Santa Monica into the proper type of housing facility; 2) robust on-site services; 3) City-directed security, and 4) good-neighbor agreements.

In establishing the Housing Focused System of Care, initial Council directed activities include:

-Stabilization housing the city controls. The City will bring the 34-room Palm Motel at 2020 14th Street under City management. Placements are limited to people who meet the City’s Santa Monica Program Participant, or SMPP, criteria. The City defines that as someone who became homeless in Santa Monica, has been homeless in the city for three or more years, or is a frequent user of City services as verified by staff. Moving forward, at the Palms Motel and at any future site, City outreach teams will also ensure that SMPP individuals are matched to facilities that can properly support the persons recovery process.

-A placement option for every street encounter. The City will fund the activation of 35 currently unfunded beds at The Salvation Army’s Bell Shelter, ensuring that City outreach teams and first responders always have a shelter referral option available for people who do not meet the SMPP definition, while also adding needed capacity for the regional system. In that manner, other jurisdictions that work with The Salvation Army will also have access to available beds funded by the City.

-Replacing congregate shelter with scattered site interim housing. Staff will identify other non-congregate sites in and around Santa Monica to replace the capacity of SaMoShel, the City’s existing 60-bed congregate shelter, ensuring the City builds upon, not deceases, sheltering options.

“Throughout the whole system, every site will operate with clear outcome goals, on-site services and on-site security,” said Aileen Reynolds, Director of Housing and Human Services. “This is about accountability, to the people we serve and the people we’re trying to help.”

The plan adoption follows 14 community meetings held between April and July 2026 and arrives days after the 2026 Point-in-Time Count found unsheltered homelessness in Santa Monica down 18.7 percent – even as homelessness rose 1.2 percent across Los Angeles County Continuum of Care – with Santa Monica’s total count falling 11.6 percent to 718 people from 812 in 2025.

For more details, visit www.santamonica.gov/topic-explainers/housing-focused-system-of-care.

By Danny Jones

WEST HOLLYWOOD—Businesswoman and TV reality star Lisa Vanderpump, known for her role on the Bravo series “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” and “Vanderpump Rules,” recently removed the PUMP logo from the TomTom Restaurant & Bar in West Hollywood.

On Monday, August 3, crews were spotted removing the PUMP sign. Lisa Vanderpump and her husband Ken Todd currently own multiple restaurants such as SUR, PUMP, and TomTom, each located in West Hollywood, with other restaurants located in California and Nevada. 

In 2018, TomTom was originally co-operated with her former SUR employees and TV reality stars, Tom Sandoval and Tom Schwartz. TomTom gained strong recognition from the television show, “Vanderpump Rules.” The bar was listed for sale in March 2026, marking the end of both the Toms’ minority partnership with Lisa and Ken once a permanent buyer is finalized. 

PUMP closed its original location at 8948 Santa Monica Boulevard at the corner of Robertson Boulevard and moved down the street to the Garden Bar near TomTom at 8932 Santa Monica Boulevard in August 2023. PUMP was marketed as a more sophisticated dining experience, while TomTom was known for bar food and drinks. 

While Lisa and Ken are currently looking for a new owner, TomTom is set to continue operating during its regular business hours from 5 to 10 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Fridays, noon to 2 a.m. on Saturdays, with operations closed on Monday. 

While the PUMP branding was removed, a “Business for Sale” sign replaced it. The new sign now sits atop the building next to the TomTom marquee.

The listing for TomTom has been marketed by Urbanlime Real Estate and Zacuto Group and is set to include all operating assets associated with TomTom and the PUMP brand. According to marketing materials, the sale includes intellectual property, social media accounts, furniture, fixtures and equipment, goodwill and proprietary operating systems.

It is unclear whether a sale would include a complete transfer of ownership or a simple restructuring of the business.

By Ryley Metten