Greater LA

Scientists hope to reduce whale fatalities from ship collisions by using a new sound technology that detects when the endangered animals are present, and then alerts cargo ships to slow down. A new study on Latinx representation in films gives Hollywood a low grade. And three companies are vying to redesign the La Brea Tar Pits.

Rob Zabrecky, the former frontman of new wave punk band Possum Dixon, has written a memoir called "Strange Cures." It's about LA's rock 'n roll scene during the late 1980s and 1990s. Zabrecky chronicles his early days growing up in "boring Burbank," his fascination with seedy Hollywood and music on the Sunset strip, and his own Hollywood story. 

Mountain lions now roam the hills surrounding Los Angeles. But there's a 99.7% chance they will be extinct in the Santa Monica Mountains and Santa Ana Mountains in less than 50 years, according to a study by the Park Service and UCLA. Environmentalists have filed a petition to protect the big cats under the California Endangered Species Act.

Ninety years ago this August, 20 women pilots flew from Santa Monica to Ohio in nine days. It was the first all women's national air race. It was a dangerous feat, and one woman didn't survive. Earlier this month, 13 women and one man raced from Santa Monica to San Bernardino to commemorate that first race. 

The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) has garnered a lot of media attention and a huge fan base, and some soccer fans want to point out that there's another team in LA: the Galaxy. The Galaxy is more than 20 years old, has won five Major League Soccer titles, and has attracted some of the most famous soccer players in the world.

LAUSD kids are back in their classrooms today. For parents, it means buying new school supplies, dropping off their kids at school or at a bus stop, and fighting traffic. We visit Baldwin Hills Elementary to see how students are being welcomed. Most students come from black, indigenous, or Latino families.

Last November's Woolsey Fire burned down hundreds of homes in LA and Ventura counties. In response, home insurance companies are raising rates of some policyholders, while not renewing policies of other homeowners. Residents have also started to rebuild, and the city is trying to speed up that process.

Table setting is one of the most exciting competitions at the Ventura County Fair. Newly elected LA City Councilman John Lee shares his plans around homelessness and transportation. And San Pedro residents want to honor Charles Bukowski with a new statue.

The City of LA wants to create more housing by encouraging Angelenos to build "accessory dwelling units." But at the same time, officials are making it tougher for people to live in their vehicles. Also, should LAUSD be rating its own schools?

Rock musician Cody Marks and her band have been playing at California prisons for more than a decade as part of the nonprofit Jail Guitar Doors, which offers music workshops as a form of rehabilitation. Also, will a huge salt dome in Utah help Southern California go green? And will LA extend its bar hours to 4 am?

For a monthly fee, the Santa Monica startup Carenote connects lonely Americans with a person in the Philippines who calls regularly to chat. We meet a Tennessee woman who's bonded with her so-called Care Pal over owning pet birds.

Last week's mass shooting in El Paso has been particularly painful for Angelenos, because so many have close ties to that city. Also, a bout 800,000 Guatemalan nationals live in greater LA. And if they register, they're eligible to vote in that country's presidential election this Sunday.  

This week, LA County Board of Supervisors approved a new sustainability plan that includes making parks and public lands more accessible, going fossil fuel-free in 25 years, and diverting nearly all of the county’s waste from landfills.

LA Metro is considering plans for the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project, which aims to build public transit options that would connect the San Fernando Valley to the Westside in a 15-minute rail ride. Metro is currently entertaining four ideas, which include two subway lines and two aerial-subway line combinations. 

Three shootings in the span of one week in California, Texas, and Ohio have community members and political leaders speaking out against gun violence and hateful rhetoric toward the immigrant community. What can you do to help? 

Restaurants across LA are accepting credit and debit cards only because cash can be a liability for businesses and consumers. However, 22% of U.S. households are unbanked, so this trend could isolate some customers. 

LA’s City Council voted on Tuesday to renew rules that restrict where people living in their vehicles may park. Community activists say these rules criminalize homelessness. City leaders say they must balance the needs of homeowners and car dwellers.

If you drive by Home Depot or Ace Hardware, you might see people waiting outside for work such as painting a room, fixing a roof, or moving furniture. These day laborers feel more anxiety now, as Trump has ramped up efforts targeting immigrants. But that's not stopping them from seeking work. 

LGBTQ activist and Democratic donor Ed Buck owns an apartment building where 26-year-old Gemmel Moore died two years ago. This year, another man died in Buck’s apartment. Moore’s friends and family want legal action. Will LA County respond? 

The Sundown Series is an amateur sailboat race open to anyone, and it costs $5 to enter. The race occurs on the third Friday of every month from May to September. We hop aboard a boat called the Rascal with a nearly all-women crew.

In the Central Coast beach town of Carpinteria, local produce farms are turning into cannabis farms. Residents are torn about whether to enjoy or protest the transformations. Plus, Dodger Stadium is being renovated, and two LA art galleries are featuring a retrospective of San Francisco's Dilexi gallery.

Host Steve Chiotakis goes on a grunion run. Embattled LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva takes tough questions from KCRW's Warren Olney. And Metro wants to give buses in northeast LA their own dedicated lanes, but not everyone's on board with the idea.

Despite thousands of requests to repair LA’s sidewalks each year, city officials say they can only manage to fix about ten a month. Some immigrant mothers who were separated from their children are suing the Trump administration. And sea level rise could mean big trouble for California's coastal communities.

Santa Monica is focused on housing the 37 most expensive homeless people in the city. The effort echoes a program that was working in LA County until the Board of Supervisors shut it down. And San Onofre Nuclear Plant is no longer running, but there's still 3.5 million pounds of nuclear waste on the site with nowhere else to go.

What are the key issues for black voters in LA right now? In an in-depth survey released today, researchers with the Pat Brown Institute asked black voters about housing and homelessness, education, gun violence, and more.