Greater LA

LA salons are specializing in textured hair now more than ever. Does this mean the natural hair movement is here to stay? LA50K, an initiative in LA County, aims to prevent drug-related deaths by distributing 50,000 boxes of Narcan, a nasal spray used to revive someone from an overdose. Bird nesting season begins earlier in Southern California compared to other parts of the country. And for the So...

Over the weekend, the union for workers at Ralphs, Vons, and Albertsons voted to authorize a strike. Workers and management will continue to negotiate a new labor contract on Wednesday. Volunteers are counting gray whales and tracking their health near the California coast, as the population mysteriously declines. State Senator Tom Umberg’s bill would give some California transit funds to Anaheim...

It’s now a year after LA’s police-led homeless encampment eviction. Controversy –– and fencing –– still surround Echo Park Lake. “Hooded or Being Black for Dummies” premiered on stage five years ago. As the play continues its LA run, the issues it explores remain relevant today. After two long pandemic years, cannabis consumption lounges are making their comeback in West Hollywood. 

More than 300 LA County public defenders signed a letter requesting that their office stop accepting certain cases because their workloads are unmanageable. Their plea was rejected. A slate of public defenders are running for Superior Court of LA County, which like most other courts, has not had many public defenders as judges. Many LAPD officers who were found to have violated the department’s de...

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is stirring up memories and renewing interest in Cold War history for Southern Californians with connections to the region. Angeleno Dimitry Granovsky’s 71-year-old father headed to Ukraine to help with the war effort. Now Granovsky wonders if he should join him in the country their family emigrated from decades ago.

When politicians leave office, sometimes they become lobbyists for countries that don’t share our democratic values. These three used to represent Californians. Chinatown is a mecca for good food, but did you know that the neighborhood hasn’t had a supermarket for the past two years? State Assemblyman Tom Daly represents the majority-blue 68th district, which covers areas in Santa Ana, Orange, and...

Thousands of Californians left the state during the COVID pandemic. KCRW hears from three ex-Angelenos who moved away to get closer to their families. Loren Miller was one of the nation's most prominent civil rights lawyers. Now his home in Silver Lake has been tapped to become a historic city landmark. Gustavo Santaolalla reflects on his eclectic career of playing latin folk rock during Argentina...

Now that prom isn’t virtual anymore, volunteer stylists helped hundreds of LA teens who can’t afford to buy finery glam up for the big dance. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley put a hold on LA Mayor Eric Garcetti’s nomination to U.S. ambassador to India, saying he has proof that Garcetti lied to a congressional panel. LA Plaza Cocina is the U.S.’ first museum dedicated to the richness and diversity of M...

LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho says he’s looking to expand the school year, increase the frequency and quality of summer school, create a parent academy, and more.  Needle exchanges are an important part of heroin addiction treatment interventions in the majority of California counties. But Orange County just shut down their last one.

Eight oil platforms off California are set to be decommissioned in the next decade, but the fate of the structures themselves has yet to be determined. Before Hrishikesh Hirway started hosting the podcast “Song Exploder,” he was a musician himself. Now he has a new EP coming out: “Rooms I Used to Call My Own.” Tory DiPietro’s new neon art installation is lighting up the 3rd Street tunnel in downto...

Glendale wants to turn emissions from its landfill into electricity. Residents living nearby say the plant is a hazard in their backyard. The crypto social club, Friends With Benefits, offers members investment opportunities and a social network. How exclusive is it? In La Puente, the restaurant Campo é Carbón is set up in the home backyard of Adriana Alvarez and chef Ulysses Gálvez. 

It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic began. While the worst seems to have subsided, some COVID patients continue to suffer from mysterious symptoms. With COVID appearing increasingly less in the news media, will polarizing issues like mask wearing or vaccine mandates fade?

Two Angelenos — one Ukrainian and one Russian — discuss what their families are living through in their respective native countries. Gov. Newsom’s new proposal, CARE Court, could place some unhoused people with severe mental illness or substance use disorders under court-ordered care. OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer faces calls for his resignation after displaying what some have described as a r...

Millennials and Gen Zers have a lot of drinking options: hard seltzers, hard tea, cocktails, beer in a can. Can those who make wine and non-alcoholic beverages keep up? Tomatomania is popping up at plant nurseries across SoCal, where you can learn about different tomato varieties and get your hands on hard-to-find seedlings.

A new HBO miniseries, “Winning Time,” chronicles the glitz, glamour, and serious game behind the 1980s LA Lakers. California and LA County have lifted mask mandates for nearly all indoor settings for vaccinated people. This Friday, unvaccinated Angelenos get to join them. “ WOMANHOUSE ” focuses on feminism through paintings, photos, and more. Meanwhile, “ Diedrick Brackens: heaven is a muddy river...

The new corporate owner of a Huntington Beach mobile home park is increasing rents in March, part of a national and local trend. As Russian forces wage a grim battle across Ukraine, many Ukrainian expats in LA want their neighbors to understand what’s going on. 

A second attempt to recall LA District Attorney George Gascón has more money and more support than the last one. A new bill in the State Senate seeks to increase the amount of money granted to people leaving prison from $200 to closer to $2600. Many LA restaurants, including Taco Maria and Woodspoon, are among semi-finalists for the James Beard Awards, which are back after a two-year hiatus. 

California is on track to live with coronavirus as “endemic.” Gov. Newsom’s recently announced “ SMARTER Plan ” is an acronym for shots, masks, awareness, readiness, testing, education, and Rx. A new children’s book presents the late Betty White as a role model for kids. She was the first woman to host a TV talk show, and worked with animals off-camera. Join the Natural History Museum of LA County...

Kids living in unstable housing are considered homeless by LA public schools. The data reveals that hundreds of thousands of people in LA are on the brink of being unhoused. Once a month, members of the East Side Riders club distribute food to unhoused Angelenos along their cycling route. The group has evolved since John Jones III founded it in 2008. The homelessness crisis remains a sore subject...

Burning waste may be “greener” than dumping it in a landfill, but the process still creates a lot of air pollution. Environmental justice advocates are targeting Long Beach’s incinerator. Susy Thunder was a computer hacker in 1980s Los Angeles who never got caught. Writer and musician Claire L. Evans spent a year tracking her down during the pandemic. The Underground Museum has reopened after a pa...

Rams fans celebrated their Super Bowl LVI win at today’s parade and rally. It was the first parade for an LA sports championship since before the pandemic. High school football is less popular than basketball, soccer, and swimming in LA. Could the Rams’ Super Bowl victory inspire more kids to be running backs and wide receivers? A bus driver strike in OC was averted after final hour negotiations b...

LA’s latest pop-up, The Break Up Bar, is a safe space for haters of Valentine’s Day. Patrons here can find healing together. Erik Braverman and Jonathan Cottrell talk about getting married on the pitcher’s mound at Dodger Stadium , and how it’s taking time for pro sports to accept the LGBTQ community. Flowers are in short supply worldwide due to the pandemic and supply chain issues. California flo...

LA Metro is losing bus operators faster than they can hire them. That’s led to overworked drivers, canceled routes, and service cutbacks. LA City Council wants to ban the repair or sale of bikes on city streets to prevent bike thefts and create more space. Opponents say it will criminalize unhoused people. Californians Chloe Kim, Nathan Chen, and Shaun White are all medaling at the Beijing Winter...

Watson “Al” Allison discusses his decades on death row, and how his freedom and career path inspires others. Law professor Ellen Kreitzberg explains the bias behind the death penalty. LA’s ban on homeless camps in specific areas was supposed to be tied to offers of help. Those offers are not always coming, leaving everyone frustrated.

Actor Issa Rae admits that her hit HBO show, “Insecure,” has played a role in making neighborhoods south of the 10 freeway more popular and often more expensive. The LA Rams play in the Super Bowl this Sunday, but the team wasn’t always based here. KCRW hears the long, windy road of how they got to SoCal.