Greater LA

The LA River has been a flood management system for decades. But worsening storms and a call for more park space have sparked debate about how to change it. Big Bear and Mammoth Lakes have had many feet of snow dumped on them in the past few days. How are they handling the deluge? With Dianne Feinstein not seeking re-election, the two frontrunners seeking her Senate seat made their cases in Orange...

A new residency for Ukrainian artists in LA allows six filmmakers and art historians to take a break from Russian shelling and soak up LA’s art and culture. More rain is on its way to the LA area this weekend. A new report shows the 2018 ballot measure to improve stormwater capture hasn’t had a big effect. Artist Yolanda Gonzalez is having a career-spanning exhibition at the Museum of Latin Americ...

Every Monday at Club Bahia, Angelenos of all genders, sexualities, and dancing abilities are carrying on a legacy of queer line dancing that caters to ex-pats and natives alike. The Joshua Tree Tortoise Rescue once cared for desert tortoises. But it turned into “a nightmare,” until a local nurse got involved.

Realistic meat and seafood substitutions have changed what it means to be vegan, and cooks at this weekly Valley market are at the cutting edge of innovation. KCRW listeners also share how they incorporate meat alternatives into their daily lives. It’s not just poppies that grow abundantly after heavy rains in Southern California. Mushrooms like it too, and foragers are on the hunt to find the “su...

Since 1933, The Los Angeles Sentinel has been a voice for the city’s Black community, who felt ignored by mainstream outlets. Nine decades later, it’s still publishing, but the media landscape is shifting. The Long Beach Opera is having a world premiere of Kate Soper’s new opera “The Romance of the Rose,” but this isn’t your grandma’s idea of opera. Four art festivals are opening in LA bringing to...

A factory east of Los Angeles that recycles lead in old car batteries has been breaking pollution rules for years. Despite protests, they’re not going anywhere. Prospering Backyards is a group that studies lead and other metals in soil surrounding the former Exide plant. Members are cleaning up the area while pushing the government to do more. LA’s Al Fresco program allowed restaurants to quickly...

Angelenos are getting hitched at the Cute Little Wedding Chapel in Long Beach. They’re taking advantage of the $14 Valentine’s Day special. Trashy Lingerie, the hot pink store on La Cienega, has made costumes for the likes of Madonna and Reese Witherspoon. Valentine’s Day is their busiest day of the year. Hollywood has a Museum of Death — and now a Love Museum. Its founder, a psychology professor,...

With eviction cases on the rise, LA City Council is weighing a law that would guarantee legal representation for those fighting to stay housed. Over the weekend, the OC public defender who died in Mexico had a memorial service. The family disputes Mexican authorities' belief the death was an accident. The new conservative majority on Huntington Beach’s city council has passed an ordinance limiting...

KCRW follows a fish’s journey from the ocean in Japan to a plate on one of LA’s most exclusive tables. LAX is constructing a people mover that will whisk you to its terminals and transport hubs. Artists are producing video installations for selected stations. KCRW listeners share their stories of love and strife, including who is (and isn’t) worthy of making a journey to LAX for.

LA groups are pulling together money and supplies to send to people affected by the recent series of earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Another big earthquake will hit Southern California someday, but many people are unprepared, and research shows why. Orly Israel wants to prove that everyone has the capacity to be a great communicator. So he sets up a table every Saturday, where he posts up and jus...

Since 1959, the Navy has used marine mammals in aquatic missions such as identifying mines. Now their dolphins are resources for studies on aging. This weekend, the Academy Museum is planning to launch “Try a Little Tenderness,” a series focusing on movies that depict love and romance between Black characters. Hustler founder Larry Flynt’s vast array of 20th century paintings, glass lamps, statuet...

Because of “co-location,” a public school and a charter school in LA are sharing the same space. It’s happening district-wide, and few seem happy about it. CalOptima is a health care plan for low-income folks, serving almost 1 million Orange County residents. But a state investigation is asking who else it’s serving. LA has a lot of stairs hidden in hilly nooks and crannies. For many Angelenos, th...

Regenerative agriculture grows healthier food, captures carbon from the atmosphere, and fights climate change. So why isn’t every farmer doing it? After the recent storms, LA reservoirs in the San Gabriel Mountains are filling up, but not just with water — millions of cubic feet of mud and wilderness debris, too. Robot dogs made headlines in New York and San Francisco when those police departments...

Mayor Karen Bass has picked a new head of LA’s homeless services authority. Will a new regime make a difference in reducing the city’s unhoused population? Los Angeles’ universal basic income pilot program, BIG:LEAP, is about to wrap up after a year. How did their no-strings-attached income affect Angelenos’ lives?

Dry January is over but abstainers in LA have more options than ever to keep drinking less or not at all. The Laundry Truck LA helps unhoused Angelenos wash their clothes. The goal is to support families and help kids stay educated, says founder Jodie Dolan. Boyle Heights native Hadda Brooks (aka the “Queen of the Boogie”) was one of the most popular musicians of post-war 1940s America. Why isn’t...

One week after the Monterey Park mass shooting, community members gathered in Alhambra to commemorate Lunar New Year and honor those who lost their lives. Retired LA lawyer and Chinese restaurant chronicler David R. Chan is undeterred from dining near the site of the recent Monterey Park mass shooting. As a rift between City Hall and the Santa Ana police union grows, the union is looking to oust t...

Rogét Chahayed’s work is nominated for six Grammys this year, including Album of the Year for Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe).” That’s not bad for a kid from the valley. When you buy something that has an “organic” label on it, can you trust that it is? The USDA is implementing new rules to protect the integrity of the organic supply chain, and build consumer and industry trust. In...

Sue Carpenter ran a pirate radio station called KBLT from her Silver Lake apartment in the late 90s. Now it’s been reimagined as an interactive experience. The Pacific Opera Project aims to make the arts more affordable and entertaining. Their next show is “Superflute,” a retelling of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” with Nintendo characters. LA vocalist Amanda Achen never thought she would be singing s...

LA’s annual homeless count determines how resources get distributed to the region’s unhoused residents. But questions have been raised about its accuracy, and officials are making some changes. With LA’s COVID-era eviction rules expiring at the end of the month, the City Council voted unanimously to expand tenant protections. From a bookstore in a microvan to a pink brick-and-mortar selling young...

Families and community members are still seeking answers following the shooting at a Monterey Park ballroom dance studio after a Lunar New Year celebration. The City of Beverly Hills has been increasing its use of street-level surveillance, which concerns some privacy and civil liberties advocates. Melahat Rafiei helped the FBI expose corruption in Anaheim City Hall, but only after she was caught...

Rooftop solar is about to get more expensive, so local solar installers are busy but expecting tough days ahead. The Imperial Valley is known for agriculture. But some farmers there are switching from crops to solar panels, which would change important features of the region. Simone Forti, known for her dance “constructions” and multimedia pieces, has her first career-spanning West Coast exhibitio...

Mayor Karen Bass’s “Inside Safe” initiative has brought more than 100 unhoused people into shelters. But how fast permanent housing will materialize? Last year saw a decrease in women and underrepresented people behind the camera in Hollywood — following momentum from 2020’s #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite. The record storms that pummeled California were a boon to surfers, who have been riding massive w...

The California Botanic Garden in Claremont has a Noah’s Ark of native plants. That’s where freezers preserve seeds from plants that might go extinct. Three people who were apparently experiencing mental health crises have been killed by the LAPD. Many question where de-escalation teams were.

Unable to develop the land, the Bruce family decided to sell Bruce’s Beach back to LA County for $20 million. KCRW speaks to the attorney representing the family. California has created a reparations task force to study the history and effects of systemic racism on Black people, and to look at ways to atone for it and remedy it. 

Two refugees who escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport meet for the first time since 1939, recounting stories of how they left Europe as children. Ammon Bundy, an anti-government militant, started a national group that’s gaining traction in LA among disaffected people on the extreme political right. Jessica Taylor Bellamy’s artwork tackles climate change and class inequality. Her first solo...