But Olympic officials say they worry that limiting the contracts to firms within the city limits could hurt competition and end up making the Games more expensive.<\/p>\n
The friction between the two sides erupted in public Tuesday when L.A. City Council committee members interrogated LA28 Chief Executive Reynold Hoover about \u201cprocurement\u201d plans for the monthlong Olympics and Paralympics.<\/p>\n
The chief executive of the host committee says he\u2019ll do his darndest to make sure L.A. businesses get their fair share of the contracts, but not if it means driving up costs so much that the Games bust their $7.1-billion budget, leaving L.A. taxpayers on the hook for cost overruns.<\/p>\n
How much money is at stake<\/p>\n
At stake is an estimated $4 billion in contracts, with roughly $1 billion expected to go to small businesses. Local companies will provide food at Olympic venues, install fences and portable toilets, and build an equestrian cross-country course, among many other projects.<\/p>\n
LA28\u2019s plans call for 75% of that work to be done by local companies, which the nonprofit organization defines as those based anywhere in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.<\/p>\n
But council members told Hoover they believed his organization should be doing more to prioritize businesses within the city of Los Angeles, considering L.A. will be the epicenter of the Games and the government is taking the greatest financial risk if the Games don\u2019t make money.<\/p>\n
If the event costs more than it brings in, L.A. will be liable for the first $270 million in cost overruns, with the state of California on the hook for the next $270 million and the city liable for any unpaid expenses over $540 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the city of Los Angeles is the first on the hook for the financial shortfalls in producing these Games, our businesses in the City of Los Angeles should be … first in line\u201d for contracts, said Councilmember Monica Rodriguez.<\/p>\n
L.A. council members push for more local contracts<\/p>\n
Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson said L.A.\u2019s greater level of regulation (including those that assure fair wages and worker protections) means its businesses might submit higher bids than those in places like Barstow and the Inland Empire. He also noted the historic spending L.A. has made on venues such as the Coliseum. Harris-Dawson said LA28\u2019s plan \u201cmisses the mark\u201d by not giving the city special consideration compared with \u201cpeople included in the five-county area that have a lot less at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n
Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez said he didn\u2019t trust the LA28 board. \u201cWe have to go to our constituents,\u201d he said, \u201cand say that we are fighting for them to make sure that they\u2019re going to get as much business as they can out of this event.\u201d<\/p>\n
City officials demanded that LA28 commit to a more specific dollar \u201cspend\u201d on L.A. business contracts and adopt a program for certifying that L.A. companies are truly based in the city (to assure, among other things, that out-of-town outfits don\u2019t merely use an L.A. P.O. box.)<\/p>\n
The \u2018General\u2019 promises to be fair<\/p>\n
Hoover gave no indication that LA28 would adhere to those requests, but he pledged to return to the council with more specific information. The Olympic chief \u2014 an Army veteran whom council members addressed as \u201cGeneral\u201d \u2014 said he was doing everything he could to bring opportunities to the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re actively going out to all the council districts and all of the communities around to talk to business leaders and community leaders about procurement \u2026 so that they can participate,\u201d Hoover said.<\/p>\n
But he also emphasized that he had to keep his eye on the bottom line and did not want to have to hire L.A. businesses that charged LA28 \u201cpremium Olympic prices.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I focus solely, first and foremost, on the city of L.A., for … small business, then I am artificially reducing the pool of competition,\u201d Hoover said, \u201cplacing greater risk on city taxpayers and placing greater risk on the [financial] backstop of the city of L.A., because prices will go up when there is no competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s top stories Lonna Drewes, left, shown with attorney Lisa Bloom, on Tuesday alleged that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) assaulted her in 2018.<\/p>\n (Myung J Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n More Swalwell assault allegationsAnother woman accused Rep. Eric Swalwell of drugging and raping her<\/a> in 2018 while she was a model in Beverly Hills, saying she became incapacitated after a single glass of wine.The news came after Swalwell announced Monday he would resign from Congress after multiple women came forward with sexual misconduct accusations.Unions win big at LAUSDThree unions won major victories<\/a> including double-digit raises for teachers and 24% for lower-paid service workers, averting a strike that nearly shut down schools.But the price of union peace will be nearly $1.2 billion in annual contract costs, and questions remain about whether the district can afford it.L.A.\u2019s housing marketMortgage rate increases triggered by Iran war tensions deepened L.A.\u2019s housing market freeze<\/a>, rendering more first-time homebuyers unable to afford starter homes.But the ceasefire deal in April has sparked activity, according to one agent, who says new escrows are up in L.A. County, though sales data have yet to reflect this momentum.Trump administration\u2019s \u2018gold standard science\u2019Across the Trump administration, agencies have committed to a supposed \u201cgold standard\u201d of science<\/a>.Critics, however, say it\u2019s being selectively applied to prioritize desired outcomes over inconvenient evidence.What else is going onCommentary and opinionsThis morning\u2019s must-readAnother must-readFor your downtime BagelFest founder Sam Silverman at the inaugural BagelFest West at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple\u2019s Audrey Irmas Pavilion in Los Angeles. Silverman founded the original New York-based BagelFest in 2019 as a celebration of bagel culture. <\/p>\n (Angela Osorio \/ Los Angeles Times )<\/p>\n Going outFestivals: A New York bagel fest rolls into L.A.<\/a> to show the best of West Coast innovation. Theater: Legendary South African actor John Kani arrives at the Geffen Playhouse<\/a> to reprise a role he first performed more than 40 years ago.Staying inA question for you: Are you planning on leaving California for another state? If so, tell us why.<\/p>\n Rachel says, \u201cNo, I was born here, and here is where I will stay. Where can you find weather like ours? There\u2019s just about nothing you can\u2019t do here in California. There\u2019s always something happening, something going on, and something to do. No, I\u2019m staying.\u201d<\/p>\n Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.<\/p>\n And finally … your photo of the day Brandon Shahniani\u2019s Los Angeles town home is full of specific time-capsule moments that bring him joy, such as his 1950s-style diner.<\/p>\n (Myung J. Chun \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/p>\n Today\u2019s great photo is from Times photographer Myung J. Chun at the theme park-style home<\/a> of a Disney enthusiast, who designed each room using theme park techniques to create spaces that make him feel safe, expressed and happy amid generational anxiety.<\/p>\n Have a great day, from the Essential California team<\/p>\n Jim Rainey, staff reporter How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com<\/a>. Check our top stories<\/a>, topics<\/a> and the latest articles<\/a> on latimes.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the 2028 Olympics approaching, Los Angeles city officials are pushing hard to make sure local and small…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,2299,1085,891,2300,2297,340,2303,63,2302,1086,1459,2301,2298,74,225,315,688],"class_list":{"0":"post-269092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-headlines","10":"tag-california-news","11":"tag-civic-revolt","12":"tag-covid","13":"tag-covid-19","14":"tag-days","15":"tag-essential-california","16":"tag-israel","17":"tag-l-a","18":"tag-los-angeles-times","19":"tag-may","20":"tag-pandemic","21":"tag-part","22":"tag-president-biden","23":"tag-red-county","24":"tag-san-diego","25":"tag-state","26":"tag-time","27":"tag-years"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Lonna](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776261309_767_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"BagelFest](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776261309_997_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776261310_710_.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n
Hugo Mart\u00edn, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters<\/p>\n