Greater LA

Major League Baseball’s regular season starts this week in LA, with the Dodgers taking on the San Francisco Giants. No fans are allowed in Dodger Stadium, which is now a COVID-19 testing site. Still, bar and restaurant owners across LA can’t wait for baseball to restart. Also in 2022, a new pro women’s soccer team will debut in LA.

After months of stay-at-home orders, people are itching for some kind of summer vacation. KCRW talks about options for getting away, and how to do it safely and responsibly.

The government has tapped some city employees to do coronavirus contact tracing. But other Angelenos are volunteering to do it. KCRW talks to two of these volunteers — an actor and a librarian. Also, public transit ridership during the pandemic is better in LA than some other U.S. cities. 

Nurses, fast food employees, Uber drivers and other workers walked off the job today in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. Labor activists say many of their demands align with those of racial justice groups.

KCRW hears from nurses who are caring for more and more COVID-19 patients. They’re worried they’re running out of space and energy. “Because of the lack of support, our nurses are just exhausted. And with this exhaustion comes bad outcomes. And that's where I come in. I'm the nurse that sees the worst of the worst,” says Erin McIntosh, a rapid response nurse at Riverside Community Hospital.

Protestors and Black Lives Matter activists are drumming up support for The People’s Budget, which would cut funding from the city’s police department and reallocate that money for social programs, for schools, and for help in low-income areas of LA. 

Activists say the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has become militarized, that it has used lethal and non-lethal force against people of color, and used dangerous weapons against mostly peaceful protestors. 

KCRW talks about all this with LAPD Chief Michel Moore.

Gavin Newsom banned all social gatherings with non-household members. Angelenos explain why they’re willing to risk infection to see each other. Plus, KCRW hears from two exotic photographers — a mother-daughter duo — about the challenges of safely shooting porn during the pandemic.

The City of LA is starting a new relief program for unemployed Angelenos who are struggling to pay rent because of COVID-19. However, housing experts say it still won’t be enough to stop a massive wave of evictions once moratorium protections run out.

The LA County Board of Supervisors recently voted to close Men's Central Jail and replace it with permanent supportive housing at "Restorative Care Villages.” Supervisor Hilda L. Solis authored the two motions ushering the closure, promoting a “care first, jails last” approach.

As bars and restaurants reopened for dine-in service in June, hundreds of front-of-the-house workers bore the brunt of a new workplace. From face shields to verbal abuse to an ever-present threat of getting sick, workers share their job experiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.