Greater LA

Dozens of immersive but socially distanced Halloween events have popped up across Southern California. KCRW visits The Bite LA at Legg Lake, and looks at other holiday destinations designed around pandemic life.

During the pandemic, the co-owners of downtown LA’s The Last Bookstore nearly ran out of money, laid off most of their staff, and closed their store. Then they began offering curated book bundles based on customers’ interests, conducting more online sales, and renting out their store for small events. The store is now back open for in-person shopping — at limited capacity and with mask requirement...

There are millions of eligible Latino voters in America, including 8 million in California alone. Both campaigns are investing in the Latino vote, which is particularly important in some swing states, like Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. In cobalt blue Southern California, the Latino vote could be pivotal in close races, including in Orange County.

The Slauson Rec Theater Company has turned a parking lot into a stage for their latest play, which is inspired by frontline workers and touches upon race and class. The company co-founders hope to build a thriving arts community in South LA.  “Bringing a theater here [was] challenging because it's not something that we're used to around the inner-city here,” says co-founder Donte Johnson. “We thou...

For decades, a large area of land west of LA was the testing ground for space exploration, spilling toxic pollutants that still haven’t gotten cleaned up. But long before it was used for rocket tests, native people held winter and summer solstice ceremonies there. A new historic designation could protect cultural heritage sites but further delay cleanup.

This week, Kevin de León will be sworn in as a new member of the LA City Council. He’ll represent downtown, Boyle Heights, and parts of northeast Los Angeles. He speaks with KCRW about homelessness, cutting through red tape, and the future of police.

If passed, Proposition 22 would reclassify app-based drivers with companies like Uber, Lyft, Doordash, and Instacart as independent contractors. Rideshare drivers discuss whether they are for or against the measure.

For weeks, pro-Armenia demonstrators have donated their money, packed church parking lots, and shut down traffic on city streets across Los Angeles County in protest of the ongoing, violent conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region in the Caucasus mountains.  The fighting pits Armenia and the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh against the government of Azerbaijan, which claims the territ...

For the last seven months, Los Angeles County malls have been mostly closed due to COVID-19. But on Wednesday, October 7, i ndoor shopping malls were allowed to reopen at 25% capacity. Westfield Culver City mostly looked the same, but with closed food courts and plenty of hand sanitizing stations throughout. Most employees were happy to return to work. Others feared contracting the virus and/or th...

LA County is home to the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines. Now there’s an energized group of Filipino Americans here who support President Donald Trump. “It's the small government, the pro-life, and having the moral position [in line with our faith],” says local Republican Noel Omega. Another reason why this group supports Trump? “Recently, China as a world power has been inva...

Child care facilities were deemed essential in the early days of the pandemic. Yet many of them closed as parents pulled children out when stay-at-home orders came. Over the summer, many early care programs began reopening with strict COVID-19 safety protocols. But parents have no clear guidance on when it’s appropriate to send their toddlers and babies to day care centers.

Today is the deadline for all mail-in ballots to be sent out across the state. KCRW hosts a panel discussion about the status of some races and important issues.  Also during the first presidential debate, President Trump urged his supporters to go to the polls on Election Day to “watch carefully” people casting their ballots. Columnist Gustavo Arellano says that this threat of cheating happened i...

Since July, Grace Community Church has been locked in a legal fight with LA County over whether or not they have a constitutional right to meet, in person and without masks or social distancing, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The conflict has made the church a case of government overreach on conservative and Christian media.

Proposition 16 would amend the California Constitution to allow race, ethnicity, sex, color and national origin to be considered when making decisions about accepting students to public universities, awarding state government contracts, and hiring state government workers. By doing so, Proposition 16 would pave the way for California to reinstate affirmative action policies at places such as the U...

Many people are working from home during this pandemic, so what does that freedom mean for job and housing markets? Some residents are leaving LA because of wildfires, climate change, and increasing housing prices. Meanwhile, others are leaving San Francisco and New York City to live in LA. 

KCRW does a cost-benefit analysis of Proposition 15, a measure on the November 3 ballot that would raise property taxes for high-value commercial properties in California, bringing in more money for local governments and schools.   And really understanding Prop 15 requires looking back at a much older measure. Prop 13 was passed in 1978, capping property taxes in California. That meant a big reduc...

Six months have passed since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of life as we knew it. KCRW checks back in on local business owners and high schoolers, and hears how their lives have changed from when we first heard from them to now. Also on this episode: why sidewalk dining is creating mobility problems for people who use wheelchairs. 

Horizon House sits on a hill crest in Malibu. USC architecture professor Geoffrey von Oeyen designed it for his brother Andrew. Shortly after Andrew moved in, the 2018 Woolsey Fire destroyed the 4300 square feet residence. The house got rebuilt with more sprinklers — a means of fire protection as homeowners no longer expect the fire department to come to their rescue in a blaze. But Geoffrey von O...

Americans are calling for police reform nationwide. Locally, LA Police Department Captain Emada Tingirides is going to lead the new Community Safety Partnership Bureau. The way this group operates is supposed to inform the LAPD’s new approach to policing. Two Community Safety Partnership officers stand watch as volunteers pass out school supplies at Watts Empowerment, a community center in the mid...

The pandemic has had a crushing effect on the tourism industry in Southern California and worldwide. Today, Greater LA looks closely at LA’s hotels, hearing about what hotel workers have had to deal with and about the successes and failures of Project Roomkey, the program to pay struggling hotels to house people experiencing homelessness.

As the November election approaches, analysts are looking at the race for LA’s next district attorney to help determine the future of criminal justice reform — both locally and nationally. Incumbent Jackie Lacey says her top priority is to keep LA County safe from violent criminals. George Gascon, Lacey’s opponent and former San Francisco DA, is running on a platform of lowering the prison populat...

Officials predict the Bobcat Fire may smolder for another six weeks in the Angeles National Forest. It’s now burned well over 44,000 acres. Some residents evacuated, and hundreds more might need to leave at a moment’s notice. In some Foothill communities, the Air Quality Index (AQI) has been as high as 500, which is extremely unhealthy.

Forget sourdough bread and rollerskating. Letter writing is one of the latest trends to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it’s not just a way to beat quarantine loneliness, it’s also a way to financially support the ailing USPS.

California has banned gatherings of non-household members. Engaged couples must decide whether to postpone their pre-pandemic plans indefinitely, or make all-new pandemic plans.  Miriam Hershman and Sagar Yadav just got married in front of five guests at Hershman’s grandparents’ front yard in Sherman Oaks. The bride got dressed in her dad’s old bedroom. They played their first dance off an iPad. T...

Earlier this week, some West LA residents placed dozens of boulders below a 10 freeway underpass on Cattaraugus Ave, in an attempt to prevent people experiencing homelessness from erecting tents there. The backlash from homeless advocates, activists and their supporters came quickly. A group of volunteers removed many of the stones a few days later.