Greater LA

On this Presidents’ Day, we broadcast a special panel discussion about the messy green rush following the legalization of recreational marijuana in California. 

LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey announced that she’s moving to dismiss 66,000 marijuana convictions dating back to 1961. Also, the race for LA City Council District 14 (Boyle Heights, downtown LA) is ground zero for problems that affect communities city-wide, such as homelessness, pollution and congestion.

A MacArthur Park school is working with LACMA to bring art into the historic but gentrifying neighborhood. LACMA director Michael Govan talks about the controversial new redesign of its main campus. There are also a ton of art fairs this weekend.

At one worship service, the choir sings Beyonce’s hits to share messages of female empowerment, freedom, and spirituality. Reverend Yolanda Norton says it’s about making black women’s experiences the center of Christanity.

The City of Los Angeles wants to make sure that people whose communities were negatively affected by the war on drugs are the first to profit from the legal cannabis industry. Their plan: give these people an early chance to apply for dispensary licenses in the city. But the plan has hit a few snags. 

Every Wednesday, diverse activists congregate outside the Farmer John’s slaughterhouse in Vernon to pay respect to pigs before their final moments. The activists hope that one day this slaughterhouse will only produce plant-based protein instead of killing pigs.

Angelenos have long criticized Pershing Square as hideous, dated, and user-unfriendly. Redesign plans have languished over the years. Will the dated-looking park -- with a parking garage underneath -- finally get the attention it deserves?

More reported cases of novel coronavirus are popping up outside mainland China. More than 350 people have died. Health experts are warning of a pandemic. So far, reported cases in the LA area have been muted. But fears about the possible spread of the virus are rattling the communities that dot the San Gabriel Valley.

Kobe Bryant and eight others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas on Sunday. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating why the chopper went down. We also look at Bryant’s kinship with the Latino community, and a mural that quickly went up in his honor. 

One of the oldest hospitals in LA is permanently closing this week. Its owner, Verity Health System, filed for bankruptcy in 2018. The announcement of the closure came as a surprise.