Greater LA

Republicans are the most vaccine-hesitant group in the state, according to a new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. Nevertheless, the majority of Republicans are willing to get vaccinated, and rates of skepticism are on the decline.

In East Hollywood, a parking lot has been turned into LA’s first government-run homeless encampment. It offers 24-hour security and free meals for the 100 or so people who are expected to move there temporarily. But some advocates worry that officials are investing too much in short-term band-aids over permanent housing.

Earth Day is an annual reminder that everyone can help protect the planet. Lucy Jones — seismologist, author, and musician — is trying to inspire people to do more by tapping into their emotions. She wrote a song to synthesize climate change data going back nearly a century and a half. She sees music as a way to help people understand the real threat of climate change. 

“We need to feel angry about it,” she says. “We need pride in addressing it … instead of just despair at ‘what can I do?’ And so it is an emotional change we need in our society to really deal with climate change. And what is music but a way to inspire emotion?”

Many people in LA and across the nation have long called for significant changes to policing and public safety. But that can mean different things to different people. Greater LA hears from Black Lives Matter-LA co-founder Melina Abdullah and LA civil rights attorney Connie Rice about their perspectives after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murdering George Floyd.

The people getting COVID-19 vaccines tend to be whiter and more affluent. That’s why the city of LA deploys 10 mobile vaccination teams to some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods. For this site in Watts, volunteers made sure it wouldn’t be cut off by gang territory lines. They also knocked on doors to assuage residents’ vaccination fears.

With so many unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, the federal government is scrambling to find places to house them. Roughly 20,000 kids are in federal custody right now — the vast majority from Central America. In Long Beach, Mayor Robert Garcia said his city will take in 1,000 children at the Long Beach Convention Center. There are plans for the Fairplex in Pomona to receive roughly 2,000 children. While local officials stress these are not detention facilities, immigrant rights activists have mixed opinions on the plan.

A new Latinx-owned ice cream pop-up in Koreatown is using sweet treats to broach sensitive topics surrounding mental health and self care. Sue Mancini, who owns Sad Girl Creamery and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 26. “I figured sharing my own personal experiences with mental health could make people relate and feel a little alleviated with the sad feelings they’re having at home.” She would like to expand her business into a brick and mortar some day, where she could host ice cream socials and invite mental health nonprofits and professionals to talk with her customers.

ArcLight and Pacific Theater locations all over LA and the country are closed for good now. That includes the iconic Cinerama Dome, which said in a statement on Monday, “This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward.” The news sent shockwaves across Tinseltown, with Angelenos taking to social media to lament.

About 10,000 units of affordable housing in LA County are likely to flip to market-rate in the next five to 10 years. Officials say this could wipe out many of the gains from new construction in relieving the region’s housing crisis.

Six Flags Magic Mountain welcomed visitors again this past weekend as theme parks got the green light to reopen due to reduced COVID-19 case numbers. Maria Cruz visited with her husband and kids from the San Fernando Valley. “We're like, ‘Finally we get to breathe a little bit.’ [But] it’s not what I expected. I think it's too busy, I think the lines are extremely long. The waiting time is too much,” she said. Meanwhile, other park goers were happy and hopeful.