With movie ticket sales down approximately 4% from 2018, and the onslaught of Peak TV and the Netflixification of film viewing compounding the endangered species status of locally owned independent cinemas, it’s not often that you see a shuttered movie house reopen — much less in a week’s time.

But that’s what happened at the Music Hall in Beverly Hills, which was operated by L.A.’s arthouse stalwart Laemmle Theatres from 1974 until it screened its last film there in late November. (A plan to sell the chain altogether also was laid to rest that month.)

Yet the following Friday, the theater, rechristened Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall, was back in action under the aegis of a group of two former and one current Laemmle employees and showing such films as Pedro Almóvodar’s acclaimed “Pain and Glory.” Movie joy reigned again on that busy stretch of Wilshire Boulevard just east of Doheny.

The Art Deco-style Music Hall has been a significant part of Los Angeles’ film history for 82 years. It opened in 1937 as the Elite Theatre and, in 1945, was renamed the Music Hall. From 1950-56, it functioned as a TV studio but was reopened as a movie theater in 1956 — and renovated in 1960 — by the Walter Reade Organization.

During the 1960s, the Music Hall saw the debuts of such major foreign films as “La Dolce Vita,” “Juliet of the Spirits” and the Russian-produced version of “War and Peace.” In the mid-1990s, Laemmle subdivided the then-single-screen, 824-seat house into three auditoriums with a combined seating of 509.

The new Lumiere was the brainchild of Peter Ambrosio, Lauren Brown and Luis Orellana, longtime Laemmle staffers, film fans and self-described “Los Angeles ‘film people,’ ” who had worked together at the Music Hall for five years. The idea was hatched last summer when they started hearing rumors that the venue might be closing.

“I became adamant that we should try to own our own theater,” said Ambrosio by phone recently from his New Jersey hometown, where he was spending the Christmas holiday. “The question was how?”

But after looking at several already dormant local movie houses, Ambrosio, Brown and Orellana set their sights back on the Music Hall and had positive meetings with both Laemmle Theatres president Greg Laemmle and the building’s landlord to discuss a possible handoff.

Timing was on Ambrosio and company’s side: They could satisfy the landlord’s need for immediate tenancy plus jump in as a buyer for the cinema’s full range of theatrical equipment, which was owned by Laemmle. A deal was struck, and Lumiere signed a one-year lease on the property with four renewal options.

“We got in at a very low capital investment,” said Ambrosio, an indie filmmaker whose second feature, “Sunday Girl,” played the Music Hall in mid-November. “We certainly very much appreciate what they [Laemmle] did. They basically said ‘We’ll make it very easy for you to have this theater up and running very quickly.’ ” The Lumiere trio is financing the venture through a combination of personal and family money.

But awareness about the cinema’s rebirth hasn’t happened overnight. “I’m still having issues with people thinking the theater is closed,” said 30-year Hollywood resident Orellana, who sat for a chat with Brown in the coziest of the Music Hall’s auditoriums as Ambrosio weighed in via speakerphone. “Though for me, what’s more important than anything right now is that we’ve gotten some of our regulars back.”

The team has made some initial improvements on the theater, most notably installing a spanking new, lettered marquee; the old one had fallen into disrepair several years ago and was simply left draped with generic Laemmle banners.

“Right now, I think there’s this interesting dichotomy where people are attracted to ‘the new,’ but there’s also this big push for ‘the old’: like the revival of 35mm [film] after it seemed like nobody cared,” said Ambrosio. “I think the marquee is part of that for us. It’s an ‘old school’ thing that people really appreciate.”

Added Orellana, “People said they used to know what was playing here because of the marquee. Now, they do again.”

They also repainted the lobby and removed some of its older fixtures to make for more open space, a “welcoming” feature they hope to expand on.

“We also plan to paint the stairwells and second floor, play up more on the art deco style, redo the carpets and maybe even redo some of the curtains in the auditoriums,” said Brown, a Beverly Hills native who has worked for Laemmle Theatres since 2001 when she was in high school. (She still serves as general manager of the circuit’s Royal Theatre in West L.A., in addition to her Lumiere duties.)

A beer and wine license is also on the horizon as is an expansion of concession stand snack fare. The theater’s 35mm projector is being reinstated as well.

Ticket prices have remained largely the same as Laemmle’s fees, including bargain rates for weekday showings until 6 p.m. as well as senior and student discounts.

But the key, as with any theater, is getting folks to show up. To paraphrase Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Music Hall team has a plan for that. Several actually.

“Going forward, a big part of our strategy is the fact that we have three screens,” said Ambrosio. “We plan on leaning into that and being a very unique hybrid. We can go in every direction at once almost: first-runs, moveovers [transfers from other theaters], four-walls [theater rentals] and repertory.”

He added, “The strategy is to program the theater in a way that we’re satisfied with, not in a way that fulfills a particular slot. Our sense of experimentation is going to lead us into places that [will allow us] to see what works and what doesn’t.”

Further new ideas include attracting film students from UCLA and other nearby campuses to see the modern classics on the big screen in 35mm, showing movies that serve a particular immigrant or ex-pat community (“The Persian films that play at the Music Hall do huge business,” Ambrosio noted), and reviving or maintaining popular legacy film series.

Brown also confirmed the theater’s commitment to promoting diverse voices. “We want to have a more cultural movie presence than there is right now, so starting in February we are going to showcase Native American films at least once a month,” she said. “I’m also going to reach out to [filmmaker and inclusion advocate] Ava DuVernay, see if we can get something working with her.”

As for those crucial first-run engagements, Lumiere will compete to show the kind of elevated, critically supported indie, international and documentary films that can bring a theater both cache and those coveted specialized audiences. And if a buzzier new movie can premiere exclusively at the Music Hall, as was recently the case with the highly praised documentary “Chinese Portrait,” so much the better.

Orellana takes the lead on these bookings, citing the long-term relationships he established with many distributors while managing theaters for Laemmle as a helpful leg-up in programming the Lumiere. “But it’s also essential for us to start new relationships,” Orellana said, “not just for now, but for the future — [for everyone] to keep us in mind.”

At the same time, a push is being made to bring first-run, general-release studio features, such as the current “Little Women,” into the mix. But the co-owners say they’ll be as strategic about these bookings as they would any film. “What makes a ‘Little Women’ different is that it’s a big-budget film but it’s also a little more indie. It’s Greta Gerwig,” said Brown. “But something like a ‘Star Wars’ [film] would not be on our radar.

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“We have the ability to be more picky and choosy about what kind of first-run movies we take in,” she added.

Ultimately, Ambrosio, Brown and Orellana are nothing if not optimistic. “Once we build our reputation, it’ll be people saying ‘Let me see what’s playing there’ as opposed to ‘Let’s see where the movie I want to see is playing,’ ” said Ambrosio. “I think that’s something we’re trying to get to as fast as we can.”

The final “Sunday Night Football” game of the season drew the fourth-largest audience of the 14-week-old 2019-20 prime-time television season.

The San Francisco 49ers’ 26-21 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, which was not decided until Seattle tight end Jacob Hollister was tackled on the San Francisco 1-yard line with nine seconds to play, averaged 22.846 million viewers, according to live-plus-same-day figures released Tuesday by Nielsen.

The only programs with larger audiences this season were the New Orleans Saints’ 12-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on “Sunday Night Football” Sept. 29 (24.108 million), Fox’s coverage of Game 7 of the World Series (23.217 million) and the Minnesota Vikings’ 28-24 victory over the Cowboys Nov. 10 (22.988 million).

“Sunday Night Football” is expected to be the highest-rated prime-time program for the ninth consecutive season, extending its own record. Its 17 telecasts averaged 19.974 viewers. The CBS action drama “NCIS” is second for the season, averaging 15.258 million viewers.

The week’s top ranked non-sports program was the “60 Minutes” broadcast with three medical-related segments, averaging 8.12 million viewers, ninth overall. The newsmagazine began a half-hour later than usual in the Eastern and Central time zones because of CBS’ late-running NFL coverage.

In a week with little original entertainment programming due to the holiday, the entertainment program that drew the biggest audience was “The Price Is Right at Night: A Holiday Extravaganza with Seth Rogen,” on CBS, which averaged 5.886 million viewers, 12th overall.

The premiere of the dating series “Flirty Dancing” was 16th among non-sports programs and 29th overall, averaging 3.46 million viewers, most among Fox’s non-sports programs.

College football bowl coverage made ESPN the top-ranked network overall, averaging 6.309 million viewers. Its coverage of Saturday’s prime-time College Football Playoff semifinal between Clemson and Ohio State was second among programs airing between Dec. 23 and Sunday, averaging 20.393 million viewers.

Viewership for Clemson’s 28-23 victory was up 10.3% from the 18.494 million average for last year’s prime-time semifinal, Alabama’s 45-34 victory over Oklahoma where the Crimson Tide took a 28-0 lead 16 minutes, 59 seconds into the game.

NBC was second for the week, averaging 5.6 million, followed by CBS, which averaged 3.75 million, ABC, which averaged 3 million, and Fox, which averaged 2.62 million for its 15 hours of programming.

ABC’s top rated program was the Lakers-Clippers Christmas Day game which averaged 6.997 million viewers, 10th overall, behind two NFL games; three NFL pregame or postgame shows; the College Football Playoff semifinal and its two pregame shows; and “60 Minutes.”

ESPN, NBC, CBS and ABC each aired 22 hours of prime-time programming.

Fox News Channel was second among cable networks, averaging 1.715 million viewers and Hallmark Channel third, averaging 1.54 million.

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Memo from: Reynolds, C

To: Expense reporting

Re: Travel in 2019

Greetings, unseen corporate expense account enforcement officers. It’s been a busy year, and from the bottom of my carry-on bag, I thank you for signing off on all (well, most) of this year’s expenditures on the road.

Especially that New Orleans hotel during Mardi Gras. I know, that was a lot to pay for very little sleep.

And the epic lunch at the seafood market in Seoul (Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, two people, $130). You couldn’t see it from your office, but one of those creatures was actually still squirming on its way from the bowl to my mouth.

Also, about that March night in the motel outside Joshua Tree National Park? I know I told you its name and rate (Safari Motor Inn, one night, $85). But until you’ve sat down with the proprietor to see the possible UFO images he’s captured with his surveillance camera, you haven’t really taken measure of the place.

At moments like these, I worry that the little window on your software form might not allow full appreciation of what the company is paying for when I’m on the road. The point of a Travel section, print or online, is to make discoveries and mistakes on behalf of readers, so they can head off to even greater adventures of their own.

These were some of my 2019 discoveries and mistakes in North America, Europe and Asia, some from travels on my own dime, most from travels on your behalf. Most of them, I wouldn’t trade for anything. (Except for my December stay at the Strat, in Las Vegas, amid renovation sounds and smells. I’d trade that for the Safari Motor Inn anytime.)

Best beach sunrise

Haeundae, Busan, South Korea. It was a January morning, as cold as a tax collector’s heart, but that low-hanging sun illuminated the place wonderfully.

Best desert dusk

Wahweap Overlook, Lake Powell, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Ariz. An environmentalist might argue that most of this water shouldn’t be there, because the Glen Canyon Dam shouldn’t have been built. But until they tear it down, I’m going to enjoy the way the light bounces between the reservoir and the red rocks.

Best busker

Doreen Ketchens, Royal Street, New Orleans. She plays the clarinet the way cats jump.

Greatest place for a chocolate factory

St. Finian’s Bay in Ireland. On a windy, rainy day in winter, you drive to the far southern reaches of Ireland, where houses are few and far between and the waves assault the shore like troops attacking enemy lines. You reach St. Finian’s Bay, the Glen, Ballinskelligs, County Kerry. And suddenly, boom, you’re at the door of Skelligs Chocolate. Then you’re inside, tasting. And then you’re at the counter, handing over many, many euros for many, many treats, because the rain outside is sideways and this seems such an improbable place to find such delicious goods. (The Ring of Kerry, very popular in summer, runs close by the factory.)

Snuggest club

C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, Austin, Texas. I went to Austin to write about the Continental Club, which has decades of happy history as a rollicking rock music venue. It was a blast. But there was something cozier about C-Boy’s Heart & Soul, which is a nearby newish place designed to feel like an oldish place (more specifically, “a neighborhood juke joint.”).

Like the Continental, it’s on South Congress Avenue and owned by Steve Wertheimer, but it leans more toward R&B. Next time I’ll get there early enough to claim one of the booths along the wall. Honorable mention: The Spotted Cat Music Club, a jazz haunt on Frenchmen Street in the Faubourg Marigny district of New Orleans.

Wettest desert

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southernmost Arizona. This is usually some of the deadliest, driest desert in North America. But on the April day I showed up, the landscape was deep green from recent rains. The earth was deep brown and every cactus seemed to be as stout as a fatted calf. Honorable mention in this category goes to Joshua Tree in March, when winter rains led to a spring binge of wildflowers.

Best snorkeling

Los Islotes, Isla Espíritu Santo, near La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Warm water. Dramatic rock formations. More than a dozen species of fish in as many colors as Bill Gates has millions. A sea lion colony full of playful pups.

Three great meals

• Margherita pizza at Tony’s Pizza Napoletana, North Beach, San Francisco.

• The six-course chef’s menu ($33) at Nómada Cocina de Interpretación, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

• And at Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market in Seoul, I believe I ate most of the creatures in the sea, including abalone, crab and octopus.

Greenest hills

Dingle Peninsula, County Kerry, Ireland. I found lots of off-season savings.

Best street for a stroll

Calle Aldama, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Snug dimensions, bright colors, well-worn cobblestones.

Most perilous selfie spot

Horseshoe Bend, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Ariz. The National Park Service has put in a viewing platform with a railing, but reckless selfie-obsessed people with their phones still scramble out to the points of greatest physical risk. So many people were taking so many ridiculous risks that I had to turn away. The people in this shot were actually behaving fairly sensibly, but you can see the temptations of the landscape. Several people died in 2018. Unless the nature of human beings and/or Instagram changes, I’m afraid there will be more.

Most memorable little creatures

Sea turtles, Baja California. They looked like Oreos with legs, but the video shows they were hatchling sea turtles, scrambling into the Pacific at sunset in Todos Santos, Baja California.

Best early-morning hike

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah. The big crowds go trouping up this red-rock path in late afternoon, when the light is better for photos. In the morning, I had room to relax, at least for a little while.

Best advertisement for quitting alcohol forever

Bourbon Street, New Orleans, Mardi Gras weekend. I walked from elsewhere in the French Quarter for five minutes just to see. Could it possibly be as bad as people say? Yes. It’s a small miracle that nobody threw up on my shoes.

Four great bookstores

• City Lights in San Francisco.

• South Congress Books in Austin, Texas.

• Tattered Cover in Denver.

• Back of Beyond Books in Moab, Utah. Browse, buy, read and repeat.

Three great public buildings

• The Vancouver Convention Centre overlooks the waterfront (cruise ships, float planes, about a million trees across the water) and is full of sustainable design elements and gorgeous woodwork.

• Union Station in Denver, a revived train station with a hotel and several restaurants and retailers tucked inside, hums with life at a time when many train stations seem to be dozing off.

• Also, the Monhegan Memorial Library on Monhegan Island is easily mistaken for a small cottage. Yet, somehow, it has room inside for everything a word-hungry wanderer age 8 or 80 might need. Rumor is that in winter (as snow piles up and the population dips below 100), the islanders leave the library unlocked, just in case anybody gets cabin fever and desperately needs a read.

Most shameless thieves

The island foxes of Santa Cruz Island. Never turn your back on these animals that inhabit Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Park. Their population is booming after a return from endangered status. Show up to claim one of the island’s 31 campsites, and they’ll soon be silently circling you, like vultures, if vultures were furry, cuddly and low to the ground. Second most shameless thief: whoever came up with “resort fees” as a way to boost hotel bills.

Three great little businesses

Like a bench-shaped boulder next to a placid pond, each is splendidly fitted to its setting.

• Candy in the Cove, which claims to be the world’s smallest candy shop, on Bowen Island, British Columbia.

• Dingle Record Shop, County Kerry, Ireland.

• And Schein & Schein Antique Maps and Prints on Grant Avenue in North Beach, San Francisco. (Be warned that hours are limited. It’s open 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Fridays and Saturday, otherwise by appointment.)

Most ingenious trails

Monhegan Island, off Maine. The island is tiny — barely 500 acres, with no paved roads. In the last two centuries, its trailblazers have created 12 miles of varied network of paths. Dense woods. Stony bluffs. Foggy inlets. And keep an eye out for fairy houses.

Three lodgings I loved

• The Island Inn on Monhegan Island, open only in summer, has 32 rooms, no TVs, several shared bathrooms and a priceless perch overlooking the island’s main pier and neighboring Manana Island. (Most rooms for two rent for $200-$355; the eight little rooms that share baths go for as little as $160.)

• The Hotel Boheme, in North Beach, San Francisco, is an upstairs retreat along Columbus Avenue, full of warm colors (orange walls) and black-and–white pictures of the city back in the day. It has 15 rooms (the quietest ones face away from the avenue), usually priced at $185-$255 nightly.

• Los Colibris Casitas, Todos Santos, Baja California, clings to a desert hillside, overlooking dramatic shoreline, with a garden that beckons hummingbirds and a little pool that will beckon you. (Its seven units, some stand-alone structures, rent for $115-$265.)

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“Why do they let this woman out on her own?”

You may be asking yourself that after you read this. I’m asking myself this after writing it. But, at least, you are getting the unfiltered truth: I am not a travel superhero. In fact, when it comes to travel details, I’m probably a C-/D+ student, which means pretty much everyone is better at this than I.

I almost always learn from my mistakes, and isn’t that the point — besides not making them in the first place? Of course it is. Here, then, are my dumbest mistakes of 2019. To respond to this or to begin proceedings for conservatorship, please write to [email protected].

We’ll start small (sort of stupid) and work our way down the scale to major stupid.

Use it immediately or lose it. The “it,” in this case is either something you put in a Word doc and save or, in my case, enter into a travel planning app. I use the Tripit app, partly because it will self-populate your itinerary if you send your plans to the specified email address. If you don’t and you are so lazy that you use your email as a filing cabinet, you’ll be OK, but only if you remember the name of the airline, the hotel and the car rental company.

I knew the first two but could not remember No. 3 and had no idea from whom I’d rented. No matter. I would find it while awaiting my flight. Searching my email for “car rental” and “auto rental” yielded no results. I paid for Wi-Fi on the plane so I could continue to look.

About five minutes before landing, I found it. But that nap I planned didn’t happen, nor did the cloak of serenity I try to travel in wrap me in its embrace.

Solutions: Save your plans when you make your plans, either by using an app or taking notes that you can find later (that is, not sent to yourself in an email).

Quit rushing and take the bleeping pictures of that rental car. I blame that absent cloak of serenity for my failure to do this when I picked up that demon car. At least I remembered to fill out the damage report and keep a copy. When I returned from the rest of the trip about 10 days later, I had a $900 bill for damage I didn’t create. Photos are the ultimate defense, but the case was closed because my damage report showed that spot “bigger than a quarter.”

The good news, if there is any good news to being remiss: I charged the car to the card that offers primary insurance. It’s not much of a backup plan, but it’s a good ace to hold.

Solutions: Have your smartphone in your hand when you’re signing the rental contract. And be sure that the credit card you’re using provides the coverage you need.

Don’t accidentally sleep with someone. I know what you’re thinking: “Trashy and dim-witted?” I plead to the latter but not the former. I simply failed to look up the kind of aircraft I was flying to Europe on Part 2 of the above trip. Because it was a 12-hour flight and I had to be as fresh as a daisy immediately upon landing, I upgraded myself to business class. I don’t do this often but my last upgrade on a different airline meant I had my own sleeping pod. I just knew this would be equally great.

It wasn’t. My seatmate was a charming fellow, but there was no separate pod and we pretty much were in each other’s space all night long. Had I bothered to look up the seat configuration, I would have been prepared. How, I’m not quite sure. Probably just mentally because I don’t think there is an airline equivalent of a bundling board (bit.ly/bundlingboard). At least neither of us got up and slipped out the front door of the aircraft the next morning.

Solution: Look up aircraft configurations on SeatGuru.com. Then hope (probably a vain hope) no one is next to you if the configuration is too cozy. Or else don’t bother to spend the miles and dollars for an upgrade

Pay attention when a customs official gives you a piece of paper and put it someplace safe. Then remember where that is. One of the hazards of flying is that it makes you kind of dopey, a double hazard if you already are. The other hazard: You accumulate lots of paper.

After four days in Mexico, I was flying home on Thanksgiving, and the only thing that stood between me and the feast was … my Mexico tourist card. I vaguely remember filling it out before I arrived in Puerto Vallarta and having it returned to me, but apparently I was more intent on not meeting the eyes of the time-share touts who lined the airport exit than I was in remembering where I stuffed it.

You know how they say that what you’re looking for is always the last thing you find? I sorted through 899 pieces of paper in my briefcase. The tourist card was No. 900, the last piece. But instead of boarding with my group, I boarded with Group E, which is Spanish for “good luck finding overhead bin space, chump.”

Solution: Organization is the prerequisite to knowledge, my high school Spanish teacher used to say. OK, Mr. Planas. Now I get it.

Check your itinerary well before you leave. I had bought two one-way tickets because I was flying from and returning to different airports. When I entered my plans into my travel app, I realized I’d booked my outbound ticket as my inbound ticket and vice versa. I never knew there was a literal side to not knowing whether you’re going or coming, but this was it. Fortunately, this was Southwest so my financial penalty was only the increased cost of the trip.

Solution: Know that the devil is in the details and that you’re creating your own hell if you don’t check them as you’re making your reservation.

Leave a detailed itinerary with trusted friends and family members (plural), down to how you’re getting from the airport to where you’re staying, along with names, telephone numbers of where you’re staying and confirmation numbers of your flights. And if you have extra medical insurance or evacuation insurance, note that too, along with your policy number and the telephone number. Be sure to include your emergency contacts and keep that information with you and on you.

If this seems like too much information to share with someone, consider this: If you are unconscious or sedated, someone will need to act for you, which is distinctly different from acting like you. You don’t want that. You want someone who is clear-headed and will, for example, remember to cancel your flight because you’re not going anywhere, at least, not then.

I didn’t do any of that prep work on one trip in the spring, and it cost me. Literally and figuratively. When I could eat again, my first meal was the return airline ticket I hadn’t canceled. Like most airline food, it was highly unpalatable.

Solution: These plans aren’t state secrets you’re sharing. Give them up.

Recovery was slow, but what really hurt was my pride, in this case and every other. I know better, and I let things slide anyway.

Learn from my mistakes. Share your own so others can learn too. We are, after all, students of the world, which is why we travel. I’ll be working to make the honor roll in 2020.

Have a travel problem, question or dilemma? Write to [email protected]. We regret we cannot answer every inquiry.

Free for the weekend? Bike for dim sum, bond with rescued animals or celebrate the new year with running, vision boarding or Japanese traditions.

Los Angeles

Young professionals can cut, paste and collage their way to a goal-focused new year at the Fab Grad Vision Board Party at Hill Top Coffee and Kitchen’s View Park location. Tickets include appetizers, wine, dessert, a 2020 reflection journal and vision board supplies. Bring your own magazines or photos for more personalization.

When: 6 p.m. Jan. 4

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Cost, info: $50. Ages 21 and older only. No dogs. bit.ly/gradvisionboardparty

Orange

OC Habitats is in the middle of its ongoing Harding Trail Nature Restoration Project at Irvine Regional Park. Pitch in by removing invasive plants, planting native coastal sage scrub and learning about local wildlife. No experience is necessary, and advance sign-ups are requested.

When: 8 a.m. Jan. 5

Cost, info: Free (includes park admission). Ages 12 and older only. No dogs. (949) 697-8651, bit.ly/hardingtrailproject

Los Angeles

In the mood for Chinese? Join the Get Some Dim Sum bike tour with L.A. Cycle Tours. You’ll ride from one Chinatown restaurant to the next for pork buns, Peking duck and chrysanthemum tea all while learning about the history and politics of Los Angeles’ Chinese community.

When: 9 a.m. Jan. 5 (Check website for other 2020 dates)

Cost, info: $100 (includes bike, helmet, tour and food). Family friendly and open to all skill levels. No dogs. (323) 550-8265, bit.ly/dimsumtour

Santa Clarita

If your ideal morning involves cuddling with turkeys, petting pigs or taking selfies with llamas, head to the Gentle Barn. The six-acre animal sanctuary offers visits on Sundays, when you can also feed horses, eat at the vegan café and enjoy time with rescued cows, chickens and goats in the peaceful outdoors.

When: 10 a.m. Jan. 5 (and all Sundays unless otherwise specified)

Cost, info: $22, or $12 for ages 12 and younger. Family friendly. Dogs OK. (661) 252-2440, gentlebarn.org/california/

Los Angeles

It’s the Year of the Rat; celebrate by crafting origami critters, tasting osechi-ryori (traditional Japanese New Year foods) and learning how the Japanese zodiac signs got their names at the Japanese American National Museum’s Oshogatsu Family Festival. Also on schedule are a 75th anniversary exhibit about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and demonstrations in mochi making, candy sculpting and taiko drumming.

When: 11 a.m. Jan. 5

Cost, info: Free. Family friendly. No dogs. (213) 625-0414, bit.ly/dimsumtour

Los Angeles

Walk or run your way around downtown L.A. at the eighth and final New Year’s Race at Grand Park. When you cross the finish line, you can continue the burn with a high-intensity Basecamp Fitness workout — or celebrate at a festival with food trucks, music and a beer garden. Proceeds benefit A Place Called Home’s services for at-risk youth.

When: 3 p.m. Jan. 5

Cost, info: From $50, or $25 for ages 12 and younger. Family friendly. Dogs OK. (213) 627-8484, newyearsrace.com

In a decade of extreme wealth creation in markets, few assets did more to enrich investors than stocks in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index. Their combined value jumped by more than $7 trillion, ending with the best year since the bull run began.

Powered by a near-doubling in Apple and gains exceeding 50% in Microsoft and Facebook, the Nasdaq 100 surged 38% over the last 12 months, the biggest increase since 2009.

Nearly all major asset categories scored gains in 2019. Gold climbed $5 to $1,519.50 an ounce Tuesday, to cap its best year since 2010, up 19%. West Texas intermediate crude fell 62 cents Tuesday, to $61.06 a barrel, paring its rise for the year to 35%.

Ten-year Treasuries yielded 1.92%, up three basis points for the day and down more than 75 basis points on the year. Bloomberg’s dollar index was set to end the year lower by about 1% after a 2.9% slump in the fourth quarter.

On Tuesday, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.49 points, or 0.3%, to 3,230.78, giving it a gain of 28.9% for the year — its best performance in six years. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 76.30 points, or 0.3%, to 28,538.44, a 22.3% rise for the year. The Nasdaq composite index — which is broader than the Nasdaq 100 — climbed 26.61 points, or 0.3%, to 8,972.60 for an increase of 35.3% on the year.

Technology stocks were up 48% for the year. Financial sector stocks, especially big banks, also posted strong gains, despite a sharp pullback in interest rates. The sector ended with a 29.2% gain in 2019, while JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup climbed more than 40%.

Tech companies needed 15 years to recover from the dot-com crash, coming full circle in 2015. Since then, they’ve doubled again. But for all the rampant appreciation, the stocks still trade below their bubble-era highs relative to earnings. Although today’s valuation of 27 times annual profits isn’t cheap, it’s a long way from the triple-digit ratios in place when the dot-com rally crumbled.

“I told myself we’ll never see those valuations again in my lifetime, and I still think that’s true,” said Doug Ramsey, Leuthold Group’s chief investment officer. “We’ve gotten closer than I would have expected, which I think is pretty remarkable only 20 years later.”

Leuthold keeps a study plotting earnings, dividends, cash flow and other measures to compare then and now, a kind of Internet-bubble calendar that shows where the market is today relative to the 1990s. (It uses the S&P 500 as its benchmark, not the Nasdaq 100.) Going by that, it’s still only January 1998 — two years before the bubble burst.

Tech stocks have been able to rally to records even as they were beset by bad news. Regulatory scrutiny is bearing down on the sector, with Democratic presidential candidates and President Trump himself stepping up criticisms of technology firms.

Plagued by scandals, tech companies saw sentiment turn against them in the late 2010s — though not in the stock market. Users became more leery of their smartphone providers and social media mainstays. Today, consumer advocates and some antitrust enforcers are calling for the breakup of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Alphabet’s Google, among others.

But compared with the dot-com run-up, the fundamentals of today’s tech giants are much sturdier than they were back then, said Bokeh Capital’s Kim Forrest.

“In 1999, there was a lot of hope in the product because there was no revenue in a lot of those companies, or very little,” said the Pittsburgh firm’s chief investment officer. “A lot of the highfliers like Uber and these consumer-orientated tech stocks, they still are unprofitable, but the difference is they have some revenue.”

In public markets, while earnings are better established, growth is getting harder to come by. Profits are likely to fall for many tech companies in 2019. Semiconductor stocks, for instance, are forecast to see a 15.4% earnings drop, and hardware and equipment makers are projected for a 6.8% retreat. In 2020, the sector is set for a rebound, with earnings growth predicted to come in above 10%, according to Bloomberg data.

The Nasdaq 100’s red-hot run has been the triumph of a few stocks over many, a state of affairs that also sows concern. Megacaps Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com and Facebook collectively contributed almost half the Nasdaq 100’s gains over the last decade, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Add Google’s parent and Intel, and the cohort accounts for almost 60%.

But the giants of today are cheaper than the dot-com leaders. Amazon trades at 82 times earnings now, down from north of 300 in 2001. Cisco’s multiple also topped 300 back then. It’s now at 17.

Cheap or not, they will be hard to dislodge, given their technological advancements and widespread consumer usage, said Matthew Miskin, John Hancock’s co-chief investment strategist. “It’s not just for investors,” he said. “It’s a global phenomenon, and it doesn’t look to be stopping just as the decade comes to a close.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Gold climbed to a three-month high to clinch its best annual performance since 2010, as a weaker dollar helped cap a year marked by global economic jitters and trade frictions.

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Bullion gained 19% this year as central banks globally embraced looser monetary policy to boost growth. Brexit, unrest in regions from Chile to Hong Kong and buying sprees from key central banks and exchange-traded funds have also helped support prices.

Spot gold climbed as much as 0.7% to $1,525.38 an ounce on Tuesday, the highest since Sept. 25. It traded at $1,520.13 at 1:40 p.m. in New York. Gold futures for February delivery rose 0.3% to settle at $1,523.10 on the Comex.

The metal managed to hold on to gains even after President Trump said he will sign the first phase of a trade deal with China on Jan. 15, easing uncertainty that has fueled haven demand for bullion.

“It is not really a surprise” especially after headlines yesterday that China’s Vice-Premier Liu He is coming to Washington to sign the so-called phase-one trade deal, said Tai Wong, the head of metals derivatives trading at BMO Capital Markets.

Some analysts doubt that gold’s strength will stick next year. JPMorgan Asset Management cautioned that bullion may not offer sound portfolio protection.

“There are very few certain environments in which gold does well, and it’s not necessarily the case that 2020 won’t be any of those,” Hannah Anderson, a global market strategist at JPMorgan, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “In the next downturn, I do believe that bonds still could be defensive assets.”

JPMorgan has come out this month to make the case for a stocks-heavy, risk-on investment allocation for 2020 as the global economy gathers momentum in the wake of the recent slowdown. On Tuesday, data showed China’s manufacturing sector continued to expand output in December, adding to evidence that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilizing.

Commentary out of China and the U.S. suggests that both countries are committed to their phase-one trade pact. However, haven asset demand in 2020 could be supported by other brewing global tensions, DailyFX strategist David Song said in a note. “The threat of a U.S.-EU trade war may become a greater concern,” he said.

In other precious metals, silver has risen 15% this year, poised for its best performance since 2010. Platinum is up 22%, its biggest annual gain since 2009, while top-performer palladium was set to end 2019 with an annual gain of 54%.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will open an inquiry into a collision on Sunday near Los Angeles involving a 2019 Tesla Inc. Model S that collided with another vehicle, the agency said late Tuesday.

Two people died and two others were injured when a Tesla exited a freeway, ran a red light and slammed into a Honda Civic in Gardena, an NBC News affiliate in Los Angeles reported on Sunday, citing law enforcement. A NHTSA spokesman confirmed the agency was investigating the crash.

The inquiry, a crash scene and vehicle inspection, is the latest by the NHTSA’s Special Crash Investigations unit involving a Tesla vehicle. It has begun 13 probes into Tesla vehicle crashes believed to involve the use of the company’s automated driver-assist features marketed as Autopilot.

A NHTSA spokesman declined to comment on whether Autopilot was a factor in the Sunday crash.

The NHTSA earlier in December said investigators would look into a Connecticut crash in which a Tesla rear-ended a parked police cruiser while the vehicle was operating on Autopilot.

Tesla representatives did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a new California labor law from more than 70,000 independent truckers.

The law makes it harder for companies to classify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, who are entitled to minimum wage and benefits such as workers’ compensation.

Freelance writers and photographers are also seeking a restraining order against the law set to take effect Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez of San Diego granted a temporary restraining order sought by the California Trucking Assn. while he considers imposing a permanent injunction.

He said the association will probably eventually prevail on its argument that the state law violates federal law. He also ruled the truckers would otherwise likely suffer irreparable harm, and that temporarily blocking the law from applying to truckers is in the public interest.

The public focus of the law has largely involved ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft, and food delivery companies such as DoorDash and Postmates, which have vowed to wage their own challenges in court and at the ballot box. Uber and Postmates filed a lawsuit on Monday.

The trucking association’s lawsuit filed in November said many truckers would have to abandon $150,000 investments in clean trucks and the right to set their own schedules in order for companies to comply with a law the group says illegally infringes on interstate commerce.

Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez of San Diego said the state will continue to fight the association “to return jobs in the trucking industry to good, middle-class careers.”

“For decades, trucking companies have profited from misclassifying drivers as independent contractors, taking away rights such as meal and rest periods and fair pay,” she said in a statement.

Freelance writers and photographers on Tuesday sought quick relief from the new law, which they say could put some independent journalists out of business.

The American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Assn. asked a federal judge to grant them a temporary restraining order while he considers a more permanent injunction in March.

However, no date was immediately set for a hearing or decision by U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez in Los Angeles.

The freelancers sued in mid-December. They argue the law would unconstitutionally affect free speech and the media.

January is prime pruning time for roses and fruit trees in Southern California. The plants are dormant now, but if you want lovely roses and fruit come spring and summer, now is the time to don some sturdy gloves, sharpen your hand clippers — a.k.a. secateurs — and get to work.

Not sure how to start? Check out these workshops and classes at local nurseries, arboretums and botanical gardens; nearly all are free. There are also a few opportunities to purchase new roses and trees.

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Saturday, Jan. 4

Armstrong Nursery offers free classes in rose pruning from 9 to 10 a.m. and fruit-tree pruning from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. at all their Southern California stores. armstronggarden.com

Sunday, Jan. 5

Rose-pruning demonstration by the South Coast Rose Society, for hybrid tea, floribundas, climbing, miniature and old garden roses, followed by a hands-on workshop with tips about proper pruning tools and preparing the rose garden for spring bloom. The Society will also sell its specially blended “rose cocktail” fertilizer for roses. 1 to 4 p.m. in Classroom A at the South Coast Botanic Garden, 26300 Crenshaw Blvd., Palos Verdes. southcoastbotanicgarden.org

Thursday, Jan. 9

The Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens’ annual bare-root rose sale starts after a talk by rose hybridizer Tom Carruth, the E.L. and Ruth B. Shannon Curator of Rose Collections at the Huntington, who will discuss how he developed his newest floribunda rose, “Huntington’s 100th.” The free talk starts at 2:30 p.m. in Rothenberg Hall, with the sale immediately following. huntington.org

Saturday, Jan. 11

Tree-fruit pruning demonstration by master gardener Liza Go at the South Coast Botanic Garden’s Rare Tree Fruit collection, which includes non-California natives such as cherimoya, citrus and fig trees. 10 a.m. to noon, $14 for members (ages 12 and up), $19 for non-members. southcoastbotanicgarden.org

Armstrong Nursery offers free classes in rose pruning from 9 to 10 a.m. at all their Southern California stores. armstronggarden.com

Sunday, Jan. 12

Rose-pruning demonstration in the rose garden of UC Riverside’s Botanic Gardens, 1 Botanic Gardens Drive, Riverside (on the UCR campus), 1 to 3 p.m. Demonstration is free; suggested $5 donation to enter the gardens. (Event moves to Sunday, Jan. 19 in case of rain.) gardens.ucr.edu

Saturday, Jan. 18

Rose-pruning class from 9 to 10 a.m. with rose experts Laura Weaver and Lynn Hillman at Roger’s Gardens nursery amphitheater, 2301 Joaquin Hills Road in Corona del Mar. The free class includes instructions on how and when to prune your roses, manage rose canes, maximize the blooms and reduce disease, and some hands-on training in the nursery’s rose garden. rogersgardens.com

Virginia Robinson Gardens Superintendent Tim Lindsay discusses the history of roses as well as instructions in correct pruning techniques from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the rose garden, 1008 Elden Way, Beverly Hills. Register online, $25 for members, $35 non members. Bring hand pruners and gloves for hands-on instruction in pruning. robinsongardens.org