Greater LA

The wind-driven Silverado Fire in Irvine burned 12,466 acres two months ago. The land is a scorched checkerboard with some areas black and barren, and others with signs of life.

KCRW investigates an affordable housing development in the Westlake neighborhood. The project, a renovation of an old motel into apartments for unhoused veterans, has already soaked up more than $30 million, including $10.2 million from LA taxpayers, and isn’t scheduled for completion until March. Why so much? Where has the money gone? And who in city government is following it?

Getting together for cocoa and Christmas caroling isn’t safe during this pandemic. But people can still hop in their cars to see drive-thru light displays. Irwindale Speedway and Dodger Stadium offer big professional light installations. Small communities around Southern California are also going all out. Plus, what’s this time of year without “The Nutcracker?” The Los Angeles Ballet is hosting an interactive digital tea party, where people can meet Clara and hum along to the “March of the Toy Soldiers.”

Rep. Adam Schiff has a bill that would more than double the size of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and preserve its wildlife habitats. “What it means is that those beautiful, open spaces will be there for future generations of Angelenos to enjoy, for our kids and grandkids,” he says. Schiff also talks about the likelihood of another coronavirus relief package, and weighs in on Donald Trump claiming that thousands upon thousands of general election ballots were illegally cast.

Some restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley have been struggling before the pandemic and are unlikely to make it. Others are adapting to — and even taking advantage of — the increase in digital orders. At family-run Chinese restaurant Jiang Nan Spring, co-owner Henry Chang says, “Before the pandemic, the majority of our business was about 75 to 85% indoor dining.” Now orders flood in through delivery apps. Their cordless landline rings constantly as waiters prepare large to-go orders on the front counter, which has been a big adjustment for the family.

Five years ago, an old well casing broke at the SoCalGas-owned Aliso Canyon gas storage facility near Porter Ranch, Los Angeles. Some 100,000 metric tons of methane unfurled into the air. It became the largest gas leak in American history. Many residents believe it led to long-term health effects such as chronic coughs and even cancer. They have unexpectedly become environmentalists, and they want the Aliso Canyon gas facility shut down.

Between March and July, California released 3,500 incarcerated people in response to the pandemic. The major outbreak at San Quentin prison prompted them to consider another 8,000 for early release. But who qualified for early release from prison under new pandemic rules?

Rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have forced LA County officials to scale back reopening plans for local businesses. Until at least mid-December, restaurants will be barred from offering outdoor dining, a service that has been allowed since last summer. Most restaurateurs have complied, albeit reluctantly. But Alex Jordan, owner of Eat at Joe’s in Redondo Beach, has decided to keep his patio open. His decision has become a rallying cry for critics of both Governor Gavin Newsom and LA County’s elected leadership in their handling of the pandemic. It is also the latest inflection point in LA concerning what to do about the pandemic moving forward.

Big Santa Anita Canyon, part of the Angeles National Forest, was an idyllic getaway for thousands of Southern California locals. Then the Bobcat Fire ripped through in September, destroying 17 of the 81 historic cabins there.  The U.S. Forest Service has not decided on rebuilding yet. It wants to see what the winter rains and likely mud will do. Big Santa Anita Canyon is not expected to reopen until April 2022.

Cooking and serving Thanksgiving meals to unhoused residents takes a lot of organization and help from volunteers. But during the pandemic, most homeless shelters aren’t allowing volunteers on-site. That doesn’t mean Thanksgiving is canceled. Staff members and the volunteers who typically help are getting creative.