Greater LA

After more than two weeks of striking, film/TV writers and their supporters are finding new ways to keep up the energy at the picket lines. WGA West Vice President Michele Mulroney says they’re prepared for a lengthy strike to meet “desperately” needed goals. More labor unrest could be on the horizon in Hollywood, as actors and directors ramp up their own negotiations.

Kids are carrying on the tradition at the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. Artist Sarah Rosalena’s new show “Standard Candle” focuses on women’s uncredited work that explores the cosmos and Native American traditions. Joshua Tree resident Andrea Zittel has crafted personal uniforms for herself since the early 1990s. A new exhibit at the Regen Projects showcases 48 handmade garments. 

Scientists and fly-fishers work to return the endangered Southern California steelhead to its native waters in Malibu Creek by removing invasive fish and an obsolete dam. USC goes all in on artificial intelligence with a $1 billion “Frontiers of Computing” initiative, which focuses on computer science literacy and ethics. A tiny hillside farm in Lincoln Heights is using regenerative farming practices to create healthy, affordable produce for the community.

Prop HHH, the LA voter-approved $1.2 billion homeless housing bond measure, has been slow and costly. But six years in, thousands of units are finally opening. In East West Players’ “On This Side of the World,” theater-goers hear stories of Filipinos immigrating to America. An OC public defender is alleging that deputies used the same drugs as evidence in two separate intent-to-sell cases for men in adjoining hotel rooms.

Asian American artists in LA are working to break apart the “Asian American monolith” by telling more nuanced stories and experimenting with form. LA-based Native American theater creators are also having a moment. Larissa FastHorse and DeLannaStudi talk about what this means and why it took so long.

Feeling lonely is normal. It’s also a sign you’re looking for community. Here’s a list of practical suggestions for making friends in LA. Americana artist Doug Levitt has traveled over 120,000 Greyhound bus miles, turning stories he’s heard into songs for his album “Edge of Everywhere.” Dozens and dozens of kites will take flight over downtown LA’s State Historic Park this weekend as the People’s Kite Festival makes its high flying return.

Part restaurant, part in-your-face comedy show, Hollywood pop-up Karen’s Diner is where staff scream at you. Terrible service is actually a selling point here. “Romeo and Juliet Suite” hits the stage and the screen this week in Benjamin Millepied’s multimedia production of the timeless love story. 826 LA mentors guide kids through the process of telling and publishing their own stories.

Residents in southern LA County face increased asthma and cancer risk. One state legislator is trying to bring them relief by closing air pollution loopholes. Workers in LA’s massive fashion district fought to rewrite a new community plan that will shape the development of downtown LA for decades. Orange County drivers who shuttle people with disabilities around the region have walked off the job after six months of failed union negotiations.

For many years, Californians have converged on Manzanar to remember the Japanese Americans who were incarcerated there during World War II. A new community science project from NASA and UCLA is teaching the public to listen to and identify the sounds of “space weather.” Young Storytellers teach and mentor students in LA and beyond in the art of storytelling, bringing the tales of kids in underserved communities from idea to stage.

The dating app Snack helps its users cut through the small talk by employing artificial intelligence to have conversations with their matches for them. After 152 years, Calle de los Negros – site of the most lethal act of racial violence in LA history – will finally get the memorial it deserves. Artist Coady Brown’s new show “Rabid Heart” at Shulamit Nazarin Gallery focuses on deeply saturated, sometimes intimate scenes of female and androgynous figures.