Greater LA

Since July, Grace Community Church has been locked in a legal fight with LA County over whether or not they have a constitutional right to meet, in person and without masks or social distancing, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conflict has made the church a case of government overreach on conservative and Christian media.

Proposition 16 would amend the California Constitution to allow race, ethnicity, sex, color and national origin to be considered when making decisions about accepting students to public universities, awarding state government contracts, and hiring state government workers. By doing so, Proposition 16 would pave the way for California to reinstate affirmative action policies at places such as the University of California. In the mid-1990s, state voters approved a different ballot initiative that essentially outlawed affirmative action.

Many people are working from home during this pandemic, so what does that freedom mean for job and housing markets? Some residents are leaving LA because of wildfires, climate change, and increasing housing prices. Meanwhile, others are leaving San Francisco and New York City to live in LA. 

KCRW does a cost-benefit analysis of Proposition 15, a measure on the November 3 ballot that would raise property taxes for high-value commercial properties in California, bringing in more money for local governments and schools. And really understanding Prop 15 requires looking back at a much older measure. Prop 13 was passed in 1978, capping property taxes in California. That meant a big reduction in tax revenue, and public schools were heavily affected.

Six months have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of life as we knew it. KCRW checks back in on local business owners and high schoolers, and hears how their lives have changed from when we first heard from them to now. Also on this episode: why sidewalk dining is creating mobility problems for people who use wheelchairs. 

Horizon House sits on a hill crest in Malibu. USC architecture professor Geoffrey von Oeyen designed it for his brother Andrew. Shortly after Andrew moved in, the 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed the 4300 square feet residence. The house got rebuilt with more sprinklers — a means of fire protection as homeowners no longer expect the fire department to come to their rescue in a blaze. But Geoffrey von Oeyen now wonders if this is the best approach to living at the wildland urban interface.

Americans are calling for police reform nationwide. Locally, LA Police Department Captain Emada Tingirides is going to lead the new Community Safety Partnership Bureau. The way this group operates is supposed to inform the LAPD’s new approach to policing. Two Community Safety Partnership officers stand watch as volunteers pass out school supplies at Watts Empowerment, a community center in the middle of the Imperial Courts housing project in Watts. Photo by Benjamin Gottlieb. In Orange County, the Sheriff’s Department has seen scandal after scandal involving jail informants, escaped inmates, and improper handling of evidence. In recent weeks, that list has grown with accusations of deputies lying, stealing, and breaking and entering. What will Sheriff Don Barnes do about these allegations?

The pandemic has had a crushing effect on the tourism industry in Southern California and worldwide. Today, Greater LA looks closely at LA’s hotels, hearing about what hotel workers have had to deal with and about the successes and failures of Project Roomkey, the program to pay struggling hotels to house people experiencing homelessness.

As the November election approaches, analysts are looking at the race for LA’s next district attorney to help determine the future of criminal justice reform — both locally and nationally. Incumbent Jackie Lacey says her top priority is to keep LA County safe from violent criminals. George Gascon, Lacey’s opponent and former San Francisco DA, is running on a platform of lowering the prison population.

Officials predict the Bobcat Fire may smolder for another six weeks in the Angeles National Forest. It’s now burned well over 44,000 acres. Some residents evacuated, and hundreds more might need to leave at a moment’s notice. In some Foothill communities, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has been as high as 500, which is extremely unhealthy.