Greater LA

There are millions of eligible Latino voters in America, including 8 million in California alone. Both campaigns are investing in the Latino vote, which is particularly important in some swing states, like Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. In cobalt blue Southern California, the Latino vote could be pivotal in close races, including in Orange County.

The Slauson Rec Theater Company has turned a parking lot into a stage for their latest play, which is inspired by frontline workers and touches upon race and class. The company co-founders hope to build a thriving arts community in South LA. “Bringing a theater here [was] challenging because it's not something that we're used to around the inner-city here,” says co-founder Donte Johnson. “We thought that if we bring something unique like this, and if we can get [the community] involved, that it would turn out to be something way huge.”

For decades, a large area of land west of LA was the testing ground for space exploration, spilling toxic pollutants that still haven’t gotten cleaned up. But long before it was used for rocket tests, native people held winter and summer solstice ceremonies there. A new historic designation could protect cultural heritage sites but further delay cleanup.

This week, Kevin de León will be sworn in as a new member of the LA City Council. He’ll represent downtown, Boyle Heights, and parts of northeast Los Angeles. He speaks with KCRW about homelessness, cutting through red tape, and the future of police.

If passed, Proposition 22 would reclassify app-based drivers with companies like Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and Instacart as independent contractors. Rideshare drivers discuss whether they are for or against the measure.

For weeks, pro-Armenia demonstrators have donated their money, packed church parking lots, and shut down traffic on city streets across Los Angeles County in protest of the ongoing, violent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region in the Caucasus mountains.  The fighting pits Armenia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh against the government of Azerbaijan, which claims the territory for its own and points to several United Nations resolutions as justification for current hostilities. The conflict, which has simmered just above the surface since the mid-1990s, erupted in recent months to levels not seen since the fall of the Soviet Union. Both sides in recent days have agreed to a ceasefire, but it appears to be fraying. In the meantime, Armenian-Americans across LA continue to protest.

For the last seven months, Los Angeles County malls have been mostly closed due to COVID-19. But on Wednesday, October 7, indoor shopping malls were allowed to reopen at 25% capacity. Westfield Culver City mostly looked the same, but with closed food courts and plenty of hand sanitizing stations throughout. Most employees were happy to return to work. Others feared contracting the virus and/or the mall shutting down again.

LA County is home to the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines. Now there’s an energized group of Filipino Americans here who support President Donald Trump. “It's the small government, the pro-life, and having the moral position [in line with our faith],” says local Republican Noel Omega. Another reason why this group supports Trump? “Recently, China as a world power has been invading some of the Philippine islands in the South China Sea. So that is something that we really as Filipinos, on a foreign policy level, really support his coming down strong against China,” says Marc Ang, the founder of the nonprofit Asian Industry B2B.

Child care facilities were deemed essential in the early days of the pandemic. Yet many of them closed as parents pulled children out when stay-at-home orders came. Over the summer, many early care programs began reopening with strict COVID-19 safety protocols. But parents have no clear guidance on when it’s appropriate to send their toddlers and babies to day care centers.

Today is the deadline for all mail-in ballots to be sent out across the state. KCRW hosts a panel discussion about the status of some races and important issues. Also during the first presidential debate, President Trump urged his supporters to go to the polls on Election Day to “watch carefully” people casting their ballots. Columnist Gustavo Arellano says that this threat of cheating happened in Orange County in 1988.