Local Briefs

Acology to be Replaced by Marijuana Clinic

Acology, an alternative medicine store on Wilshire Blvd west of 14th Street for the last 30 years, will soon be replaced by a weed store, multiple news sources reported.

The marijuana dispensary will be the first in Santa Monica. Marijuana sales are accompanied by a certain amount of controversy. Conventional banking is impossible for them because of federal laws making marijuana a schedule one drug.

From the Acology website: “Founded in 1995 We specialize in Self Help Products. Available in store: Sports Injury Products, Medical and Orthopedic Supplies, Physical Therapy Products, Stretching, Balance, Massage, and Strengthening products.”

The owner has not decided if the store will continue online, or in another location. She says she was given only 30 days notice to vacate, after 30 years of leasing the store front at 1414 Wilshire Blvd.

Homeless Count Goes Contactless

The City of Santa Monica plans to hold it’s annual count of homeless people on the street on Jan. 22nd. However, people are expected to remain in their cars, with “pre-formed teams” of 3 or 4 people.

“Only teams are accepted this year, explains the official press release. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are requiring volunteers to register as pre-formed teams of 3-4 individuals, who are already part of a “pandemic bubble” or that you would otherwise feel comfortable riding with in one car.”

“On the night of the count, your full team must arrive together in one car, as deployment will be handled on a drive-through basis only. Individual volunteers will not be assigned to a team to count. If you previously registered as an individual to count, please re-register with a team. We are no longer able to accommodate individual volunteers.”

The 2022 Homeless Count will be held at Santa Monica Beach Lot 4 South (2030 Ocean Avenue, Santa Monica, CA 90405) to allow deployment to be done completely in your car. Enter from Southbound Ocean at Bicknell.

“Please respect the neighbors – no honking or loud music,” notes the City press release.

LAX Completes Pedestrian Bridges

Three out of six pedestrian bridge structures to connect LAX terminals to the future Automated People Mover stations in the Central Terminal Area have been successfully placed, the airport announced Thursday.

The latest bridge to be complete crosses over World Way and will connect West Central Terminal Area station to Terminal 3 when the Automated People Mover train system is completed.

“With the completion of this operation, the steel structures for half of the pedestrian bridges over World Way have been successfully installed," said Jake Adams, deputy executive director of the airport's $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program. “As the airport continues to undergo major landside and airside modernization efforts, these pedestrian bridges are a prelude to the future of connected travel at LAX.”

The final bridge was completed over the course of four evenings as partially pre-fabricated steel trusses were assembled and lifted into place. Each weighed between 56,000 and 97,000 pounds and were lifted with a 350-ton crane. Next, crews will install underdeck scaffolding to allow construction above the roadway and minimize the impacts of the public.

The two other already-complete pedestrian bridges connect the West Central Terminal Area station to Terminal 4.5 and the Center CTA station to Terminal 2. The remaining bridges will be located at Terminal 1, Tom Bradley International Terminal and Terminal 5.5.

Super Bowl Tix Worth Serious $

The game will be played in the home stadium of the Rams, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

This year's NFL title game will feature the NFC-champion Rams and the AFC-champion Cincinnati Bengals.

With the Super Bowl roughly two weeks out, tickets are going for a premium. According to NFL Ticket Exchange, the cheapest tickets will run fans more than $6,600 while the most expensive seats are going for close to for $75,000 for one ticket.

The Super Bowl starts at 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022. Kickoff time for Super Bowl 2022 is at 6:30 p.m. ET and the halftime show will begin after the first two quarters of the game are completed: approximately between 8:00 – 8:30 p.m. ET.

Super Bowl Experience Open

Super Bowl LVI will take place in Inglewood in about a week, but fans can gear up for the big event ahead of that in downtown Los Angeles.

The Super Bowl Experience presented by Lowe’s is set to open at the L.A. Convention Center this weekend.

Billed as the “NFL’s interactive football theme park,” the experience features interactive NFL games and offers fans the chance to get autographs from some of their favorite players and take a picture with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The event will be held Feb. 5 and 6, and Feb. 10 through 12. Tickets for adults cost $20 to $40, depending on the day, but they can cut the cost in half by taking Metro downtown. Admission is free for children 12 and under.

The Super Bowl Experience (formerly the NFL Experience) is an annual event which has been held since 1992 at a venue in the host city of the Super Bowl.

The event is described as an interactive "theme park," featuring various fan-oriented attractions, including football-related activities and autograph sessions with current and former players.

Proceeds from the sale of Super Bowl Experience tickets go to fund the NFL's Youth Education Town (YET) initiative, which constructs facilities (typically in low-income neighborhoods of Super Bowl host cities) offering afterschool programs for youth.

What is Super Bowl LVI, Anyway?

Super Bowl LVI is the upcoming championship game of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2021 NFL season. It will be played between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Cincinnati Bengals. The game is scheduled to take place on February 13, 2022, at SoFi Stadium, marking the second-consecutive and second overall Super Bowl to feature a team playing in its home stadium.

The Rams will seek their second Super Bowl title and their first as a Los Angeles-based team in their fifth appearance. They last won 1999's Super Bowl XXXIV while based in St. Louis and last appeared in 2018's Super Bowl LIII.

The Bengals will seek their first Super Bowl title in their third appearance. They last appeared in 1988's Super Bowl XXIII. Both teams finished the regular season as their respective conference's 4-seed, making it the first Super Bowl without a top-3 seed since seeding was introduced in 1975.