Greater LA

California and LA are seeing major pushes for “social housing,” which is government-supported, not owned by a for-profit entity, and is affordable to people of different income levels. Public housing used to be enormously popular in Los Angeles, but that changed amid a surge in anti-communist sentiment in the 1950s. Underdog Community Project is a mutual aid group of volunteers and trained veterinarians who help unhoused Angelenos keep their pets happy and healthy. 

Some disabled veterans are shut out of supportive housing due to VA disability income. It’s a catch-22 that reflects larger challenges in filling subsidized units. Across from LA City Hall, a vacant lot has signs that boast, “Good things are coming!” The signs have been there for a decade. What’s going on? As summer approaches and Angelenos head toward the beach, it turns out that lots of sharks are swimming in the waters off the SoCal coast, says a CSULB study.

If you put food scraps into a green bin with your yard waste, are you truly helping the planet? For LA residents, the answer is definitely yes. 

With over 80% of major event ticket sales in California, Ticketmaster/Live Nation has a stronghold on the industry. State Senator Scott Wilk is leading a bipartisan charge to change that.

Some 30,000 unhoused kids may be living in Orange County, says a new report from an OC grand jury.

As bumble bees decline, local volunteers fan out to find them. Together they’ll create the California Bumble Bee Atlas to help guide conservation decisions. June ushers in Pride month and with it celebrations and remembrances. Brody Levesque of the Los Angeles Blade gives a survey of SoCal happenings. Eater’s Mona Holmes explains where to grab breakfast, lunch, dinner — and maybe even dessert — on your next Central Coast adventure. 

Sometimes the best way to cope with anxiety over the climate crisis is to focus on something you can control. So why not start with your trash? The beloved video store Vidiots reopens its doors this week with a bigger collection of film rarities, and a new movie theater. Artist Keith Haring is known for painting radiant babies and barking dogs through simple line work. His first-ever LA museum exhibition is now at the Broad Museum.

Small businesses that support the film/TV industry are feeling the economic ripple effects of the ongoing Hollywood writers’ strike. A proposed expansion of the city’s “adaptive reuse” ordinance could make it easier to transform unused commercial and office buildings into residential units. A litter of three female mountain lion kittens was found in the Simi Hills. Can they capture the public’s imagination like P-22, not to mention survive as long?

After a record-breaking rainy season, LA’s hills are blanketed in fresh, green foliage. That’s great news for local foragers who spend their free time harvesting edible plants. A local designer, a clothing line using dyes from plants, and an environmental group are collaborating to make clothes using these invasive plants. Festive and messy jacaranda trees are usually blooming this year. But it’s already late May, and some Angelenos are wondering where those purple leaves are.

Last year, the state approved hundreds of millions of federal dollars to help child care providers through the pandemic. Eight months later, most payments haven't arrived. Set in California and Florida, TC Boyle’s latest novel “Blue Skies” finds humor plus hope in the climate change crisis. As the WGA strike continues, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit is distributing grocery gift cards to writers who are struggling to make ends meet.

Catalytic converter thefts more than tripled in LA County last year, and some victims are replacing the $3,000 car part just to have it stolen again. So Yun Um’s new documentary “Liquor Store Dreams” explores her upbringing in and around her family’s Hawthorne business, plus her complicated relationship with her immigrant parents. The Nickel Diner opened in 2008 in its “Skid Row adjacent” Downtown LA digs. After a pandemic and inflation, it’s shutting down this weekend.

LA boasts the largest population of Iranian immigrants in the world. Learn how they’ve shaped the area’s landscapes and neighborhoods with a new car tour. LA City Council members on Thursday committed an unprecedented $1.3 billion to the homelessness crisis. Is that enough to make a visible dent? Rep. Katie Porter’s bid for Senate is adding drama in California’s 47th district, with OC Democrats scrambling to find a strong contender.