Greater LA

One year after his passing, Kobe Bryant’s legacy continues. The Lakers’ 2020 championship victory was dedicated to him. LA artists have painted hundreds of murals around town to represent him and his daughter Gianna. A local youth basketball coach gains inspiration from Bryant on and off the court.

As LA’s queer community grapples with the closures of popular bars like Rage, Oil Can Harry’s and Flaming Saddles, other bars are struggling to keep the lights on. 

Santa Monica’s new City Hall East structure uses solar energy and captures rainwater. But the showstopper? It uses “foam-flush” toilets that turn human waste into nutrient-rich compost for the garden on site. But that makes some employees a little uncomfortable.

California is about 2,300 miles from Washington D.C., and despite recent violence and insurrection, some Angelenos still wanted to see the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration in person. Others, however, are staying put. KCRW talks with two LA residents on the swearing-in of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

With calls to stay home during the pandemic and threats of more violence in Washington, D.C., most Joe Biden supporters from Southern California will watch the inauguration virtually. But some are willing to take the risk. KCRW speaks with a Riverside resident from Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’ sorority who canceled her trip to D.C. after the insurrection on January 6, and a Highland Park resident who’s heading to the nation’s capital.

Dodger Stadium went from the world’s largest COVID-19 testing site to the country’s largest vaccination site. By the end of the week, the goal is to be able to give 12,000 shots to patients per day. One disaster relief worker calls this the most important project in her 15 years of work. And one patient reports that the process is surprisingly efficient and smooth.

Following the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and this week’s impeachment vote, several California Republicans are attempting the delicate maneuver of being a Trump loyalist while recalibrating based on recent events. KCRW looks at how they’re making their political calculations.

In LA County right now, COVID-19 is killing one person every eight minutes. California Governor Gavin Newsom said earlier this week the state has vaccinated fewer than 800,000 people, even as millions of shots sit ready in freezers. Newsom announced today that California would be following the new CDC recommendations to prioritize anyone age 65 and up. KCRW looks at delays in distributing vaccines, efforts to speed up the process, and the latest changes to who gets the shots next.

Greater LA kicks off a new weekly series exploring neat solutions to waste. It begins with plastic, including why its popularity exploded in the 20th century, why it continues to pile up in our landfills and oceans, and how one toymaker is redefining playtime without it.

Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise among people experiencing homelessness in LA County. Group shelters are having a particularly hard time controlling the spread. Since October, coronavirus positivity rates within the sheltered homeless population have gone from about 2% to 10%, according to Dr. Heidi Behforouz, chief medical officer for LA County’s Housing For Health program.