Greater LA

Dry January is over but abstainers in LA have more options than ever to keep drinking less or not at all. The Laundry Truck LA helps unhoused Angelenos wash their clothes. The goal is to support families and help kids stay educated, says founder Jodie Dolan. Boyle Heights native Hadda Brooks (aka the “Queen of the Boogie”) was one of the most popular musicians of post-war 1940s America. Why isn’t she remembered today?

One week after the Monterey Park mass shooting, community members gathered in Alhambra to commemorate Lunar New Year and honor those who lost their lives. Retired LA lawyer and Chinese restaurant chronicler David R. Chan is undeterred from dining near the site of the recent Monterey Park mass shooting. As a rift between City Hall and the Santa Ana police union grows, the union is looking to oust two City Council members.

Rogét Chahayed’s work is nominated for six Grammys this year, including Album of the Year for Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe).” That’s not bad for a kid from the valley. When you buy something that has an “organic” label on it, can you trust that it is? The USDA is implementing new rules to protect the integrity of the organic supply chain, and build consumer and industry trust. In the last year, there have been more calls for workers’ rights and higher wages. Locally, Assembly Bill 257 would raise wages and ensure safer environments for lower-paid food service workers.

Sue Carpenter ran a pirate radio station called KBLT from her Silver Lake apartment in the late 90s. Now it’s been reimagined as an interactive experience. The Pacific Opera Project aims to make the arts more affordable and entertaining. Their next show is “Superflute,” a retelling of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” with Nintendo characters. LA vocalist Amanda Achen never thought she would be singing songs written for the “Final Fantasy” video game franchise. But she’s embraced the journey it’s taken her on.

LA’s annual homeless count determines how resources get distributed to the region’s unhoused residents. But questions have been raised about its accuracy, and officials are making some changes. With LA’s COVID-era eviction rules expiring at the end of the month, the City Council voted unanimously to expand tenant protections. From a bookstore in a microvan to a pink brick-and-mortar selling young adult literature, LA’s book market is on the move.

Families and community members are still seeking answers following the shooting at a Monterey Park ballroom dance studio after a Lunar New Year celebration. The City of Beverly Hills has been increasing its use of street-level surveillance, which concerns some privacy and civil liberties advocates. Melahat Rafiei helped the FBI expose corruption in Anaheim City Hall, but only after she was caught soliciting illegal payments from a cannabis company. 

Rooftop solar is about to get more expensive, so local solar installers are busy but expecting tough days ahead. The Imperial Valley is known for agriculture. But some farmers there are switching from crops to solar panels, which would change important features of the region. Simone Forti, known for her dance “constructions” and multimedia pieces, has her first career-spanning West Coast exhibition up now at MOCA in downtown LA.

Mayor Karen Bass’s “Inside Safe” initiative has brought more than 100 unhoused people into shelters. But how fast permanent housing will materialize? Last year saw a decrease in women and underrepresented people behind the camera in Hollywood — following momentum from 2020’s #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite. The record storms that pummeled California were a boon to surfers, who have been riding massive waves that they haven’t seen in years.

The California Botanic Garden in Claremont has a Noah’s Ark of native plants. That’s where freezers preserve seeds from plants that might go extinct. Three people who were apparently experiencing mental health crises have been killed by the LAPD. Many question where de-escalation teams were.

Unable to develop the land, the Bruce family decided to sell Bruce’s Beach back to LA County for $20 million. KCRW speaks to the attorney representing the family. California has created a reparations task force to study the history and effects of systemic racism on Black people, and to look at ways to atone for it and remedy it.