| Just in time for Memorial Day weekend travel, a roughly 11-mile stretch of beach-hugging road on the Pacific Coast Highway is reopening on Friday after January's Palisades Fires closed it to outsiders. The portion of highway runs from Santa Monica through Malibu, and averages more than 40,000 vehicles daily during the summer travel season. Its infamous traffic congestion will likely be worse in the years ahead as debris clearance and reconstruction continue. Road rage aside, Malibu businesses may be happy to see a return in activity along the scenic drive. A survey found that 42% of Malibu businesses reported a loss of more than 75% of their profits since the wildfires, as residents and tourists were pushed away. "Instead of having to hang a U-turn on PCH, Angelenos can now 'hang ten' with Malibu businesses and residents," State Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin said in a statement. — John Gittelsohn  The Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, before the Palisades Fire. Photographer: Ed-Ni-Photo/iStockphoto Filmmakers seeking the backdrop of Hollywood's most iconic sites will have an easier time now that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has signed an executive order streamlining access to production permits. Bass's order aims to cut the notorious costs and red tape that make it difficult to secure permits to film at places like Griffith Observatory and the Central Library. By giving producers a warmer welcome, the mayor aims to keep the film and TV industry from being lured away from LA. Worries over "runaway production" have reached all levels of government. Trump's call for 100% tariffs on movies made overseas was the talk of the Cannes Film Festival this month. The president is also considering incentives suggested by his group of Hollywood ambassadors to make domestic production more attractive. Meanwhile, Newsom has asked the White House for at least $7.5 billion in tax credits to bring more filmmaking to the US. The state of California has its own annual $750 million film tax credit program to create jobs and incentivize projects, which were hit hard by the pandemic in addition to competition from other states and countries. "Keeping entertainment production in LA means keeping good-paying jobs in LA, and that's what we are fighting for," Bass said in the order. — Maxwell Adler  Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Photographer: Bing Guan/Bloomberg | 
