Greater LA

LA city officials are responding to a rise in violent crime, and news headlines are painting a dramatic picture. But what are the real numbers versus public perception, and how does that play into the politics of crime? LA District Attorney George Gascón is facing a lot of resistance and a second recall attempt. There’s no evidence that his policies are tied to any rise in crime, but if some voter...

The so-called king tide shows what high tides will look like as sea level continues to rise. That’s why teams of volunteers and scientists flocked to the California shoreline to capture photos of the highest tide of the year as it crept up beaches and crashed onto sidewalks, staircases, and oceanfront balconies. The rising sea levels are making hundreds of the state’s toxic sites prone to flooding...

Malibu was the private domain of one woman 100 years ago. A champion land preservationist and the scourge of squatters and railroad men, May Rindge fought the longest court battle in California history in an attempt to keep coastal Malibu all to herself. She lost it all in the end, but in a sense, she also won. Greater LA’s regular contributors also sum up 2021 when it comes to dining, art, and Or...

“Safe Sleep Village” in Rampart Village is LA’s first ever city-funded homeless encampment. It opened this year, providing shelter and services without the typical restrictions. But it didn’t stay full, and now the pilot program’s ending. Some cities are trying to curb California’s new “duplex law” that takes effect in 2022, though proponents say it will provide relief for the state’s homelessness...

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates that 250,000 to 750,000 coyotes exist statewide. They’ve been adapting to urban life and have become increasingly tolerant — and less afraid or respectful — of their human neighbors. KCRW gets tips on what to do if a coyote gets too close to you or your home. In “Apparently There Were Complaints: A Memoir,” actress Sharon Gless reveals stori...

Car dealerships are benefiting from the global supply chain issues that are hurting many other businesses. Most dealerships are seeing record profits despite significantly reduced inventory. A research scientist and professional skier react to a new report projecting snowless winter seasons in the Western U.S. in the not-so-distant future. An art exhibition at Kayne Griffin in Mid-Wilshire spotlig...

Christmas tree shoppers have to dig a little deeper in their pockets this year for the perfect tree, or settle for one that doesn’t quite reach the ceiling. That’s due to supply chain problems and drought. Meanwhile, a local tree farmer and a home decor business are having to adapt. On the second season of the “Lost Hills” podcast, a mother and son from Malibu drowned off the coast of Santa Cruz I...

Many Native American boarding schools closed long ago and are viewed as sites of trauma, but Sherman Indian High School in Riverside is different. It’s still open and thriving, and its mission is to support tribal traditions and identities. LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer says it’s highly likely the Omicron variant has already reached Los Angeles, and recommends people take advanta...

In 1991, actor Steve Martin wrote and starred in “LA Story,” a satirical romantic comedy in which a wacky weatherman tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter struggling to make sense of early 1990s Los Angeles. Thirty years later, we speak with Martin about whether the LA stereotypes that made the film so hilarious still hold up. The global supply chain and American overconsumption...

“Chicano I & II: The Mexican American Heritage Series” aired on KNBC-TV in July of 1971 and examined history from the Chicano perspective. The program reran once in 1972, then the film reels remained untouched in a garage for 50 years. Now the show’s original host and USC have revived nine of the 20 episodes for the public to view.  To achieve its ambitious organic waste reduction goals , the...

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, “Licorice Pizza,” is about growing up and falling in love in the San Fernando Valley in the 1970s. He looks back on growing up in LA and realizing he didn’t need to go to film school to make movies, and explains why winning awards is the last thing on his mind when trying to finish a 10-hour work day. Also, KCRW speaks with a real-life politician portrayed in “Lic...

It’s been two months since Carson residents started smelling rotten eggs and getting headaches. LA County declared a state of emergency, paid for thousands of hotel rooms, and are spraying thousands of gallons of odor neutralizer on the nearby Dominguez Channel every day for weeks. Now the county says Carson is safe, and it will stop paying for rooms this week. But the residents who are already ho...

For the first time in the 68-year history of the California School for the Deaf in Riverside, their football team is one game away from capturing the division championship. This comes after suffering seven straight losing seasons. The Division 2 Final Championship takes place November 27 at the school’s home field. Also, how would statewide redistricting affect Congressional seats in Orange County...

Koreatown performance artist Kristina Wong suddenly had no work when the pandemic began, so she started creating face masks. Soon her so-called “Auntie Sewing Squad” included people nationwide, making masks for hospital workers, migrant workers, and more. Now eight times a week onstage in New York City, Wong recounts how she sparked a mini-movement at her red Hello Kitty sewing machine in Koreatow...

The Santa Susana Field Lab — overlooking Chatsworth, Simi Valley, and Canoga Park — was a nuclear testing site for America’s space exploration programs from 1948 until 2006. In July 1959, it suffered a partial nuclear meltdown — which was covered up — that released clouds of radiation. In the decades since, arguments have dragged on about how to clean up the contaminated site and who will pay for...

As the winter season approaches, LA County might be spared from another major COVID-19 spike. That’s due to rising vaccination rates and the lasting power of booster shots, says Paula Cannon , professor of microbiology and immunology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.  On the first Saturday each month in Ladera Heights, a group of volunteers picks up trash along the stretch of La Cienega Boulevard...

Why does affordable housing take so long and cost so much to build? KCRW’s Anna Scott and KQED’s Saul Gonzalez team up to find answers. They look at LA voter-approved bond measure Proposition HHH, which hits its five-year anniversary this month. “Freewaytopia” is a new book about the 527 miles of freeways that criss-cross LA County. And OC supervisors are preparing to vote on new district maps, bu...

Starting in January and throughout 2022, the City of LA plans to give 3,200 families in poverty $1,000 a month — with no conditions. The $38 million program is called “ BIG:LEAP .” To be eligible, families must live in LA, have at least one dependent child, and earn income at or below the federal poverty level . Theater students at California State University Channel Islands in Camarillo uncovered...

The smell of freshly-grown cannabis surrounds specific parts of Carpinteria along California’s Central Coast. The county isn’t doing much, so some growers and fed-up residents decided to put their heads together. But will it make the neighborhood less stinky? The Netflix show “Gentefied,” about gentrification’s real-world implications in Boyle Heights, releases its second season on November 10. Gr...

A couple of dozen Malibu neighbors have been developing “community brigades” since the 2018 Woolsey Fire. The brigades are meant to fill in the resource gap when firefighters are stretched too thin. This model relies on training volunteers and coordinating with local agencies. It requires a lot less training and a smaller time commitment, and offers more roles than other volunteer firefighting pro...

Cannabis has now been legal for recreational use in California for five years. When the state adopted Prop 64 in 2016, the idea was to bring in money from taxes, reel back the impacts of the years-long war on drugs, expunge marijuana misdemeanors, and legalize the state’s illicit cultivators and sellers. On this anniversary, Greater LA looks at how far we’ve come, what LA is doing right and wrong,...

New urban oil wells would be prohibited under new regulations proposed by the Newsom administration. But phasing out these lucrative drill sites will take time, and environmental activists are concerned the proposal doesn’t go far enough to protect California’s most vulnerable communities. Plus, a new report looks at which areas and residents of LA are most affected by extreme heat and droughts. A...

There may come a day when fire-prone areas like Malibu aren’t habitable as climate change makes wildfires more frequent and more difficult to control. Some homeowners are spending thousands of dollars to keep their homes from burning, or even risking their lives to stay and fight the fires themselves. LA Mayor Eric Garcetti is in Glasgow for the U.N. climate conference, and he tells KCRW that LA i...

Artists and activists from the Chicano civil rights movement of the 1970s helped dramatically expand appreciation of Día de los Muertos among Mexican Americans living in LA. The first public celebration in the city was held at Self-Help Graphics and Evergreen Cemetery in Boyle Heights. Also, a proposed solar array in Anaheim would power 2,000 homes, but some residents worry about how it’ll impact...

The Arroyo Seco Tiny Home Village has 177 separate sheds for each person or couple who used to live on the streets. However, it’s not easy for everyone to adjust to a new life in the village, which comes with rules. Also, the LA Times analyzed data over the past year and a half of remote learning and found “deep drops in assessment scores or below grade-level standing in key areas of learning.” KC...