Greater LA

LA’s Olvera Street is a Mexican marketplace created according to the vision of a white outsider, though generations of Latino Angelenos have since claimed it as their own. A new LA County program aims to combat poverty by giving 1000 Angelenos $1,000 a month for three years. Applications are open now through April 13. A U.S. district judge recently found that former President Trump and former Chapman Law School Dean John Eastman “dishonestly conspired to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021.” 

At People’s Pottery Project in Glassell Park, formerly incarcerated women can learn how to work with ceramics, earn a living wage, and find social support. Some young people are making videos in their bedrooms that draw millions of views. Brat TV wants to help them break into Hollywood. Through her collage work and painting, artist Deborah Roberts explores how race shapes perceptions of beauty and innocence, especially when it comes to Black youth.

LA salons are specializing in textured hair now more than ever. Does this mean the natural hair movement is here to stay? LA50K, an initiative in LA County, aims to prevent drug-related deaths by distributing 50,000 boxes of Narcan, a nasal spray used to revive someone from an overdose. Bird nesting season begins earlier in Southern California compared to other parts of the country. And for the Southland’s most common owl species, it happens even earlier. 

Over the weekend, the union for workers at Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons voted to authorize a strike. Workers and management will continue to negotiate a new labor contract on Wednesday. Volunteers are counting gray whales and tracking their health near the California coast, as the population mysteriously declines. State Senator Tom Umberg’s bill would give some California transit funds to Anaheim Resort Transportation, which provides bus services to Disneyland and other commercial attractions. OCTA says those funds should go to public transport.

It’s now a year after LA’s police-led homeless encampment eviction. Controversy –– and fencing –– still surround Echo Park Lake. “Hooded or Being Black for Dummies” premiered on stage five years ago. As the play continues its LA run, the issues it explores remain relevant today. After two long pandemic years, cannabis consumption lounges are making their comeback in West Hollywood. 

More than 300 LA County public defenders signed a letter requesting that their office stop accepting certain cases because their workloads are unmanageable. Their plea was rejected. A slate of public defenders are running for Superior Court of LA County, which like most other courts, has not had many public defenders as judges. Many LAPD officers who were found to have violated the department’s deadly force policies have not been disciplined, according to a report from the LAPD’s inspector general.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is stirring up memories and renewing interest in Cold War history for Southern Californians with connections to the region. Angeleno Dimitry Granovsky’s 71-year-old father headed to Ukraine to help with the war effort. Now Granovsky wonders if he should join him in the country their family emigrated from decades ago.

When politicians leave office, sometimes they become lobbyists for countries that don’t share our democratic values. These three used to represent Californians. Chinatown is a mecca for good food, but did you know that the neighborhood hasn’t had a supermarket for the past two years? State Assemblyman Tom Daly represents the majority-blue 68th district, which covers areas in Santa Ana, Orange, and Anaheim. After five terms in office, he won’t seek reelection.

Thousands of Californians left the state during the COVID pandemic. KCRW hears from three ex-Angelenos who moved away to get closer to their families. Loren Miller was one of the nation's most prominent civil rights lawyers. Now his home in Silver Lake has been tapped to become a historic city landmark. Gustavo Santaolalla reflects on his eclectic career of playing latin folk rock during Argentina’s “Dirty War,” to punk/new wave music in Los Angeles, to winning Oscars for his film scores.