#119: The Los Angeles City Council has been through a lot of upheaval. In the past few years, there’s been corruption scandals, indictments, leaked tapes with racist language — all involving city leaders. The latest: Councilmember Curren Price has been charged with embezzlement of public funds, among other counts.

It's rattled his largely Latino district, which came out (mostly) in his defense recently. Unlike past corruption charges against sitting councilmembers, the council moved NOT to suspend him (yet) as the charges work their way through the court. But as the last of two Black councilmembers in L.A., his situation has a lot of observers wondering about the future of Black political power in this city.

Guests: LAist's Civics and Democracy Correspondent Frank Stoltze and Los Angeles Times columnist Erika D. Smith.

#118: The sun is coming out y'all and the temps are rising. Come August it is going to be HOT in L.A. with some of the most severe heat in the San Fernando Valley. We explain what is happening with our weather and why certain parts of L.A. become almost unbearable. 

Guest: LAist Science Reporter Jacob Margolis 

Some additional news you can use: 

Why Does It Get So Hot In Los Angeles?

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/why-does-it-get-so-hot-in-los-angeles

Tips To Protect Yourself In A Heat Wave

https://laist.com/news/climate-environment/extreme-heat-wave-is-on-its-way-and-expected-to-stay-through-labor-day-weekend

#117: Before LA became the city of the car, we had one of the most robust public transit systems in the world. Well, that might not be coming back in the near future... But we DID just take a major step forward. LA's got some new train tracks, connecting the city from East to West and North to South through Metro's newly finished regional connector project.

Now you can get from Azusa to Long Beach, or East LA to Santa Monica, without a single transfer.

When the new tracks opened, the HTLA crew was there... not just to check out the new rails... But to race. From Boyle Heights, to the beach. One car, one train, who will win? Tune in to find out - and be sure to check out our piece on LAist.com for photos and more info about the connector.

#116: Today, we dive deeper into the hurdles veterans face to secure housing in LA. Specifically, income limit restrictions, and how this leaves the most disabled veterans – those who need housing and services most – ineligible for most VA housing.  

This is part two in a special two-part series about the veteran homelessness crisis in LA. We speak to Edward Sotelo, a 70% disabled veteran who was unhoused for more than a decade until he recently secured housing in one of the West LA VA's new units. 

We also revisit Josh Petit, a formerly unhoused veteran we met in part 1 of this series. (If you haven't listened, go back to yesterday's episode!)

Guests: Edward Sotello, formerly unhoused veteran who recently moved into an apartment on the West LA VA campus; Josh Petit, formerly unhoused veteran currently living in a tiny home on the West LA VA campus; Rob Reynolds, unhoused veteran advocate and formerly unhoused veteran; Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist

#115: In May, 179 new apartments opened up for unhoused veterans at the West LA Veterans Affairs campus. Some veterans who have been stuck inside the VA system for years to were finally able to secure housing.

But the development is still years behind schedule and hundreds of units short, leaving roughy 4,000 veterans in L.A. County without a permanent place to live.

This is part one in a special two-part series about the veteran homelessness crisis in LA. Today, we explore how a long history riddled with bureaucracy and red tape within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and other government agencies have left thousands of veterans unhoused in LA – a place once known as the "homeless veteran capital" of the county. 

HTLA and our unhoused communities reporter, Nick Gerda, head to the West LA campus to talk to some unhoused – and formerly unhoused – veterans and advocates, as well as LA Mayor Karen Bass and VA officials, about the current state of affairs for vets in this city.

Guests: Josh Petit, formerly unhoused veteran currently living in a tiny home on the West LA VA campus; Rob Reynolds, unhoused veteran advocate and formerly unhoused veteran; Karen Bass, Mayor of LA, John Kuhn, Deputy Medical Director of the West LA VA

#114: Juneteenth — a shortening of June 19th — marks the day chattel slavery ended in the United States. On this day in 1865, nearly two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, federal troops arrived in Galveston, Texas to tell the last enslaved Black Americans they were free. 

All throughout Los Angeles County, there are celebrations honoring this holiday. But one of the largest is in Leimert Park. A festival has been held there since 2018, with music, food, art, vendors and all sorts of activities, but the Juneteenth tradition in this community goes back decades.

Jonathan Leonard, a Texas transplant, is credited with starting it in 1949 by hosting a family barbeque in his backyard. The tradition took root that day in Leimert Park and, over the years, the party grew.

This year, some 50,000 people are expected to show up and celebrate Juneteenth in the neighborhood. It's no longer the simple picnic with barbeque, Red Soda and watermelon. Jazmine Sullivan is headlining! But Leonard's mission still drives it. Listen to this episode to learn about that history. 

Guests: DJ QwessCoast, Juneteenth Leimert Park Festival organizer; Ariyana Leonard and AyEsha Leonard McLaughlin, Jonathan Leonard's daughters

Read more here: The Long Legacy Of Juneteenth In Leimert Park

#67: This episode originally aired on February 16, 2023. 

When people think Los Angeles, they don't exactly think soul food. But this city actually has a rich (and delicious) soul food scene mostly in South LA. In this episode, we explore the origins of this epic cuisine, and how it plays a huge role in preserving Black history and culture. We visit South LA soul food staples Serving Spoon in Inglewood, and Mama's Chicken in Hyde Park. 

Guests: Christopher Carter, food and racial justice professor and author of the Spirit of Soul Food; Karen "Mama" Whitman, owner of Mama's Chicken

#57: We're about halfway through the year (can you believe it?). So we're re-upping our new year's resolutions to find more zen. This episode first aired on January 24, 2023.

Whatever self improvement goals you've set for yourself this year, life is still stressful - work pressures, family commitments...not to mention natural disasters, political strife and world crises that you literally have no control over. Well, we want to offer a little respite. Los Angeles actually has a lot to offer in terms of quiet places to walk or meditate that could bring a little peace to a hectic day or week. We are not mental health experts so we are just making suggestions based on what we know we need from time to time to have a little zen in our lives. Host Brian De Los Santos checks out a few special places around the city that are accessible to anyone who is looking for a little calm, and gains a new understanding of the benefits of walking meditation. 

Guests: Diana Winston, director of mindfulness education at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center; David Jaramillo, director of operations and customer care at The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness

#113: Foraging doesn't just mean hightailing it to the Santa Monica mountains and looking through brush and wood for mushrooms. There's a whole world of wild, and not-so-wild foods growing all around us — in our Urban Forest. Los Angeles has so much to offer, whether you're looking for citrus or loquats or edible flowers. But it's a LOT to learn all by yourself.

So today, HTLA newsletter writer Aaricka Washington is taking Brian De Los Santos on an edible tour of those famous Silverlake stairs... you know, the ones with the hearts on them? She was out there recently with a BIPOC foraging group to learn how to forage for the first time, and now she's sharing what she learned — and the community she gained — with Brian.

Be sure to check out Aaricka's newsletter for photos and more information about the group she went out with:

Want To Learn How To Forage? There's An Inclusive Workshop Right Here In LA

Music in this episode composed by: Austin Cross, Mort Garson, Naran Ratan, & Woo

#112: On June 27, a special election will be held to choose the candidate who will replace former L.A. City Council President Nury Martinez.

You might remember that she resigned in the wake of a scandal last fall, having been caught making racist ands other ugly comments during a group conversation that was secretly recorded and made public.

Imelda Padilla and Marisa Alcaraz are both going after her seat in Council District 6, a 20-mile stretch of the city in the San Fernando Valley that includes neighborhoods like Sun Valley, Arleta, Van Nuys and Lake Balboa.

Padilla and Alcaraz were both raised in the area, with similar backgrounds, but they took different career paths. In this episode, we find out who these two are and why you should care about the outcome of this race, even if you don't live or vote in CD 6. 

Guest: Frank Stoltze, LAist Civics & Democracy Correspondent 

For more, read Frank's article:

The ‘Policy Nerd’ Vs. The Grassroots Organizer In LA City Council Race To Replace Nury Martinez