South L.A. to Become SOLA? Now You’re Just Messing With Us, Right?
I nearly spit my coffee out all over my keyboard yesterday when I read that 8th District Councilmember Bernard Parks wanted to rename South Central, already "upgraded" to "South L.A." in 2003, to "SOLA."
April 22, 2015
Fourteen Artists Named for the Crenshaw Line; What Can We Expect to See From Them?
Crenshaw Boulevard may be chaotic to navigate due to the construction of the Crenshaw/LAX Line at the moment, but good things appear to be in the works. The Source reported Wednesday that the new stations will be graced with works from a diverse mix of 14 artists.
April 17, 2015
At What Point Could this Have Been Stopped?: Community Celebrates Exide’s Closure, Seeks Full Accounting from New DTSC Director
"We won, folks. We won!" Monsignor John Moretta addressed the crowd that had gathered at Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights to hear about the process by which the closure of Exide Technologies' embattled lead-acid battery recycling facility would begin. "Siempre adelante. Siempre adelante." [Always moving forward.]
April 14, 2015
Metro Takes Another Step Forward in Effort to Build and Preserve Affordable Housing at Transit Hubs
In case you haven't heard, we're in a bit of an affordable housing crunch.
April 2, 2015
What Does the “Failure” of the Ban on Fast-Food Restaurants in South L.A. to Curb Obesity Really Tell Us?
"Yea, everything [is] OK...I hope all is well with you. I'm upset right now & crying because I'm starving. Have no food."
March 27, 2015
Your Moment of City-Planning Zen: Lulu Guides You Through the Community Plan Implementation Overlay Tool
How will South L.A. develop over the next twenty years?
March 20, 2015
Boyle Heights Youth Research Community Challenges, Find Proposed TOD Solutions Don’t Go Far Enough to Help Neediest
"So..." I begin, looking around the table at CALO YouthBuild students Abigail Navarro, Irvin Plata, Stephanie Olwen, and Eric Aguayo.
March 19, 2015
Eyes on the Street: Leimert Park Prepares People St Plaza for Grand Opening
The date for the grand opening of Leimert Park's People St Plaza is not quite set in stone, yet, but it's coming very soon. And I couldn't be more excited. The stakeholders in Leimert Park have begun to install some of the unique features they developed as a way to tie the plaza to the culture of the community, and they look pretty fantastic.
March 17, 2015
Streets and Justice Advocate Maryann Aguirre Featured in Video for International Women’s Day
A few months ago, we featured the story of the extraordinary Maryann Aguirre as part of our #streetsR4families series. The series looks at the experiences of parents trying to move their families safely through the streets of Los Angeles via transit, bicycle, or on foot. Speaking as a single mother from the working-class Latino community of Boyle Heights, Aguirre made it clear that she believed that streets around her would only truly be safe when her community, as a whole, was healthy and thriving.
March 13, 2015
Victory in Our Time: Exide Plant to Close for Good, First Phase of Clean-Up of Site to Begin Immediately
As news began to trickle out Wednesday night that, under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, embattled lead-acid battery recycler Exide Technologies will be forced to permanently shutter its Vernon plant, hope seemed to have finally been restored to those who have spent years clamoring for environmental justice.
March 12, 2015