Sahra Sulaiman

Last night, representatives from the Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), Plains Exploration & Production (PXP), the oil company in charge of the Baldwin Hill Oil Field, and other officials went head to head with members of the Greater Baldwin Hills Alliance and a highly a skeptical community in a standing-room-only meeting at the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area Community Center.

Join us from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Watts to celebrate the launch of Streetsblog in South L.A.!

SELLING SOUTH PARK ON their new park seems to be a slow process.

FOUR BOYS WITH BIKES between the ages of 9 and 13 stand in a yard along Hooper St. in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood, looking warily at me as I pull up on my bike. Victor, a solid kid with a swipe of grease across his cheek, tightens his grip on a wrench as the others glance nervously at each other. Strangers tend not to show up in people's yards asking questions very often around here, and these kids are clearly not sure what to make of the situation.

“I GOT ARRESTED once,” Daniel said, cheerfully.

“SPEED BUMPS,” volunteered a participant in response to questions about what would improve the overall quality, safety, and walkability of their neighborhood.

Unionization at two carwashes represents victory for a handful of workers, but underscores how much more remains to be done to protect workers.

When he first came to check out the lot at 98th and Pace, Edgar Flores found himself stumbling across the carcasses of animals that had been dumped there. A couple of dead dogs, a bag full of dead roosters, he lamented, “the smell was horrible!”

WHEN I FIRST MET JOHN JONES III, leader of the East Side Riders, he sized up all 5' 2” of me and, instead of shaking my hand, stuck his straight up in the air.

The Real Rydaz Low Rider Bike Club are comprised of around 30 riders, and distinguished from other groups by the insane amount of detail that goes into crafting their custom bikes. It's all for a good cause, however. They hope that by riding with pride through the streets of their communities--communities where recreational riding is sometimes rare--they are sending a message about the importance of being healthy to youth and adults alike. It is a real club with dues and a probationary period.