Spotlight

Summer is all about fun, and nothing says adventure like unforgettable wildlife experiences. The San Diego Zoo has them all, including the iconic giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao! After arriving from China in June 2024, these charming bears made their public debut at the end of last summer, delighting visitors with their graceful bamboo nibbling, leisurely tree lounging, and gentle ways. This summer, they are now entirely at home in their lush, reimagined environment, Denny Sanford Panda Ridge. As one of only two U.S. zoos with pandas, the San Diego Zoo promises an incredible treat for visitors of all ages.

While there, a must-see are the zoo’s precious baby giraffes! These gentle giants are not to be missed.

Just across the bay at the Safari Park, elephant lovers will be thrilled by Elephant Valley. This impressive exhibit is home to a growing herd, featuring majestic adults and mischievous youngsters roaming spacious terrain. Built as a 2.5-acre haven, it blends modern habitat design with educational storytelling, exploring ancient megafauna through life-size fossil portals.

And while the real “jingle bells” await winter, the Zoo’s Jungle Bells celebration remains a local favorite. Though it unfolds in December, nostalgia for twinkling lights, festive music, including holiday sing-alongs powered by “Jingle Bells,” and charming roaming entertainers is already in the air. The Zoo transforms nightly with light treks, carols, and themed décor, creating a family-friendly glow. So, something to plan for the end of the year!

To plan your visit, click here.

Think of female tv newswomen dipping toes into celeb journalism, Diane Sawyer comes to mind. By her side would be early morning figures like Jane Pauley, Katie Couric and Joan Lunden. Maybe Oprah and Gayle King. Barbara Walters was the original. 

If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, you might remember that pre-Oscars each year, there was a big Barbara Walters Special where she sat one-on-one with her big get. We knew Walters as the celebrity interviewer, relegating her to a lighter form of journalism. 

Walters, though, was the first female network news anchor in 1976. She then went on to establish 20/20 and created The View; her career path was a metaphor for the 20th century news business and how that morphed from straight serious news delivered by men in suits, to the entertainment hybrid we see today. 

Walters was more than a celeb journo; in the new documentary, Barbara Walters Tell Me Everything, gives credit to Walters for breaking through many news barriers – and showcases her early impressive ‘gets’ including Vladimir Putin, Fidel Castro, and the Shah of Iran. She was successful because she negotiated difficult interviews by building trust with her subjects, and had the nerve to ask the outrageous question meant to reveal (vs for shock value). 

Recommend this film to your daughters and granddaughters, it is a masterclass about a class act icon.

For more, click here.

A lot has happened in marine biology since 1975, when Jaws was released. Sharks have their own week of programming on Discovery networks, an annoying pre-K song, and the shark stand-in from the film – a huge animatronic model nicknamed “Bruce” – still a feature in Universal’s Studio Tour. Back in the 70’s sharks were scary and the inclination was to slaughter them to save us from the terrors of the deep. 

We know more about sharks in the decades since the film premiered – they are tagged and followed by millions as they roam the world’s oceans, and we have grown to understand the necessity of this predator in the ocean’s food chain. 

This documentary Jaws @50: The Definitive Inside Story (airing on Nat Geo July 10), then Disney+ and Hulu – tracks the story behind the story of this groundbreaking film: the first Summer blockbuster movie, the first movie filmed on the ocean, 26-year old director Stephen Spielberg’s first big studio film. The production had weather delays, Bruce kept breaking down and looked too fake, and during the filming Spielberg had a panic attack so severe he thought it was heart failure. 

Casting was brilliant and the script – partly written by the novel’s author Peter Benchley and contributed to by others – kept the action intense. The infamous musical score (that intensified when the shark was nearby) helped too! I definitely plan to watch Jaws again before seeing this doc, just after July 4th. Great timing, dive in!

For more, click here.

Joyce Soul & Sea is led by founders and operators Chef Sammy Monsour and Prince and Athena Riley. They were inspired by and named the restaurant after Prince’s mother, who grew up in the South. Monsour, who splits his time between LA and Charleston, South Carolina, is well known to downtown diners, having spent years earning recognition at Preux & Proper, where the eclectic chef channeled the deep flavors of New Orleans. He’s got an eye for that same Southern complexity at Joyce, with the kitchen shelling out dishes like crawfish hushpuppies, Nashville hot catfish, and a hickory-smoked tomahawk pork chop. The highlight of the dining room will certainly be the raw bar platters, tipping and pitching through the room loaded with crab claws, shrimp, and lobster. There is caviar and roe for those looking to splash some cash, and low country-inspired black tiger prawn and oyster perloo. Squares of golden cornbread hit nearly every table, and beverage director and co-owner Kassady Wiggins serves up cocktails and natural wine all night long. Joyce celebrates the essence of soulful Southern cuisine, spotlighting sustainable seafood. Joyce’s recipes reflect a heartfelt blend of flavors inspired by the coastal South. I’m rocking with this spot! This was some of the freshest catfish I’ve had in Los Angeles, and the prawns were next level. 

For more, click here.