Greater LA

Are you having a hard time making friends as an adult? Speed friending events are popping up across LA to help folks connect. Balboa Island’s ferry has been making the trip back and forth across the harbor since 1919, but new state environmental mandates may sink it. Near LA, DDT is contaminating an area of the seafloor that’s larger than the city of San Francisco. Scientists and policymakers are racing to find solutions.

Two years after police cleared a large homeless camp and the city fenced Echo Park Lake amid massive protests, a new council member wants to bring down the chain link barrier. Reactions are mixed. A new exhibit at the Honor Fraser Gallery explores the history of drag. It features more than 40 artists who work in photography, painting, film, performance, and animation. LA County has seen record amounts of rain and snow this season, which means waterfalls are flowing. Here are some of the best hikes to see them.

SoCal’s drought restrictions are over for now, but this winter’s rainwater won’t last long. LA County captured lots of stormwater, but not enough to provide lasting relief. May 1 is the end of the contract between Hollywood studios and film/TV writers who are represented by WGA. This week, the two sides started negotiating. Las Fotos Project teaches photography to young women and gender expansive youth from communities of color. And they don’t just use phone cameras.

Two teachers — from an elementary school and a high school — explain why they’re striking in solidarity with LAUSD workers such as custodians and bus drivers. Plus, how to get resources for surviving the strike, and what’s driving this conflict? Louise Nevelson was one of the most iconic sculptors of the 20th century. LA’s Pace Gallery is showing her larger, monochromatic wooden sculptures as well as colorful collages.

KCRW hears from parents, teachers, LAUSD’s Jackie Goldberg, and SEIU’s Lester Garcia as the district sits on the verge of a three-day shutdown. Following unprecedented amounts of winter rain, Orange County is struggling to save hillside housing and railways.

Sidewalk vendors in LA are suing the city for access to no-vending zones as part of a broader push to make vending a viable legal business opportunity. The Actor’s Gang has been bringing theater classes to California prisons for over a decade, now some alumni of the program have written and will perform an original play.

Both USC and UCLA’s women’s basketball teams surpassed pre-season expectations by making the NCAA tournament. But how far can fans expect them to advance? Longtime LA politician Mark Ridley-Thomas finds himself on the wrong side of a 19-count federal corruption trial. He’s arguing his behavior was “unethical,” not “illegal.”

A local Inglewood church backs an entertainment company and studio to spread a message of hope. Residents in the San Bernardino Mountains are still digging out from the snow. Now another storm bringing rain complicates the situation. In “L.A. Painter: The City I Know. The City I See,” artist Karla Klarin shares essays and images spanning 40 years in the City of Angels.

Mayor Karen Bass’s efforts to shelter unhoused Angelenos is scaling up fast. But some participants say the rollout has been messy and confusing. There’s no Oscar for Best Location. If there were, a San Fernando couple might win. They own the laundromat featured in the movie “Everything Everywhere All At Once.” The state of California recently sued the City of Huntington Beach over failure to follow its mandate to build affordable housing. Huntington Beach sued right back.

The Corgi Nationals attract thousands of people to Santa Anita Park racetrack to watch 100 stumpy-legged dogs race … or maybe just play. Illegal gambling venues called “casitas” are popping up around Southern California. The real people making money, though, are members of the Mexican mafia. North Hollywood High School’s science bowl teams cleaned up at last weekend’s regional competition, and are now headed to the nationals in DC to defend their title.