Greater LA

Since the beginning of the pandemic, rats seem to be more prominent in every major city. Kat Herrera, owner of Kat’s Pest Solutions in South Pasadena, says her business has nearly tripled.  When LA restaurants shut down indoor dining, rats had to get scrappy for food. 

Starting Wednesday night, LA County will require restaurants to stop outdoor dining, which local health officials have linked to an uptick in new coronavirus cases. What does this mean for businesses and the economy? Also, a virologist and a psychologist discuss people’s feelings of COVID fatigue and how that affects their behavior.

Before COVID-19, street vendor Heleo Leyva ran Quesadillas Tepexco, an East Hollywood food stand. But as the virus began to spread, he was forced to shut down. Then he decided to team up with local volunteers and chefs to help feed his community — all for free. Since August, Leyva’s Community Cookouts has distributed more than 2,000 meals.

Sun, sand, and surf are all synonymous with Southern California’s famous beaches. But a batch of new developments coming to the Coachella Valley are hoping to turn the desert into the region’s newest surf spot. Using a variety of technologies, making waves is going to be big business in resort towns like Palm Springs and Palm Desert. With so many SoCal residents already riding the waves, developers think guaranteed good weather — and tailor-made sets — will entice surfers to try “hanging ten” in a pool when conditions are less than ideal at the beach.

A UCLA study found that around 449,000 renters in LA County were unemployed because of COVID-19 and had no income to pay their rent. However, so far, there have been fewer evictions than expected. From April through the end of June, landlords filed an average of 350 eviction cases per month, down nearly 90% from last year, according to preliminary data from the LA Superior Court. Meanwhile, many tenants and organizers are pushing for a full cancellation of rent.

The 605 Corridor Improvement Project aims to add new lanes and exit ramps along the 605 freeway and a stretch of the 5 freeway in southeastern LA County. But the plan would also require that hundreds of homes get torn down in the process. The Downey residents who would be affected are fighting back.

President-Elect Joe Biden has put forward several policy proposals on housing and homelessness. What could they mean for the 66,000 unhoused people in Los Angeles County?

Nithya Raman is the new City Council member representing LA’s District 4, which covers Griffith Park, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills and part of Koreatown. The urban planner from Silver Lake is replacing incumbent David Ryu, who held the seat for years. She talks to KCRW about getting involved with politics, addressing homelessness in LA, and how progressive values were reflected in the 2020 election.

The company Exide owns a battery recycling plant in East Los Angeles that’s been closed for years. But the plant spewed lead, arsenic and other carcinogens known to cause serious health problems — such as increased risk of cancer, breathing diseases, and learning disabilities — into nearby communities for decades. But things have become more complicated in recent weeks after a federal judge approved Exide’s bankruptcy plan, raising questions about how the state will pay for the continued cleanup of some 6,000 homes and properties.

Despite a global pandemic that’s curtailed travel, longtime desert destination Palm Springs saw an unexpectedly busy summer. As the hospitality industry adapts by sparing much of the touching in “personal touches,” vacation rentals and hotels are gearing up for the busiest time of the year in Palm Springs. But as they’ve managed to adapt, pandemic pivots have been harder for restaurants that’ve been repeatedly forced to alter service based on California’s multi-phase reopening framework.