Category: 1-HeadlineNews

To Project Roomkey’s architects, the program was a no-brainer. Thousands of hotel rooms were empty because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And there were thousands of people who lacked homes and seemed especially vulnerable to the coronavirus. The plan to put the people in the empty rooms and pay the hotel owners seemed to solve two problems at once.

Sounds easy, right? But in practice, not so much. The program helped some people but certainly not everyone.

Today we examine Project Roomkey — its promises, achievements, shortcomings and future. We talk to L.A. Times reporters Benjamin Oreskes and Doug Smith, who have covered the program from the start. We also talk to Stephanie Klasky-Gamer, the head of a nonprofit that helps people transition out of homelessness.

More reading:

L.A. had a golden opportunity to house homeless people in hotels — but fell short of its goal

L.A. County won’t expand program to shelter homeless people in hotels

Federal aid allows L.A. to extend hotel-room rentals for homeless people

Rules against jaywalking are rarely enforced, but in many places, when someone does get a ticket, it's more likely than not a person of color — and the penalty is steep.

Jaywalking tickets disproportionately affect communities of color in California’s biggest cities. Critics say that’s because of systemic racism, and state lawmakers want to address the disparity. A bill currently awaiting the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom, known as the Freedom to Walk act, would get rid of penalties for pedestrians who try to cross the street when it’s safe, even against a red light.

Today we talk to state Assemblymember Phil Ting, who introduced the bill. And walking advocate John Yi discusses getting from Point A to Point B with convenience and dignity.

More reading:

Editorial: Trying to cross the street shouldn’t be a crime

O.C. deputies argued over whether to stop Kurt Reinhold before fatally shooting him

2018 Op-Ed: Cars are running over people left and right. So why is LAPD targeting pedestrians and not drivers?

We’re doing another crossover episode with our sister show, “Asian Enough.” Today, hosts Jen Yamato and Tracy Brown are joined by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, the breakout star of Netflix’s hit coming-of-age comedy “Never Have I Ever.” She talks about her Tamil roots, her high school self, her bond with Mindy Kaling and what it’s like getting mega-famous overnight — during a pandemic.

More reading:

You’ll want to learn the name Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. She’s Netflix’s next teen star

‘Never Have I Ever’s’ heroine can be surprisingly cruel. Here’s what’s behind it

‘Never Have I Ever’ is the L.A. immigrant tale I never thought I’d see on TV: My own

Trust Women Wichita is a clinic in Kansas that has long been a lightning rod in the abortion wars. Its former director, George Tiller, was assassinated in 2009 by an antiabortion extremist, and the clinic closed for years because of that.

Since it reopened in 2013, the clinic slowly became known as a place for people from across the Midwest and South who want to end their pregnancies and must travel hundreds of miles. Now, with Texas passing one of the most sweeping antiabortion laws in the country, Trust Women Wichita is busier than ever.

Today, L.A. Times Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske takes us to this abortion clinic. She talks to women who came from far away to get an abortion, staffers who feel their work is more important than ever — and antiabortion activists who are counting on even more restrictive laws to effectively shut down Trust Women Wichita.

More reading:

For many Texans, it’s a long drive out of state for abortion

Op-Ed: What it’s like operating a Texas abortion clinic now

The new Texas abortion law is becoming a model for other states

Lighting, cameras, sound props, costumes, editing and so much more: About 60,000 workers with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees — IATSE for short — are among the most forgotten of Hollywood’s magic makers. And now, citing unfair working conditions, they might go on strike. What does that mean for them? And what does it mean for people who like watching movies, TV shows and streaming services?

Today we talk to L.A. Times entertainment industry reporter Anousha Sakoui, who has been following the issue. And a crew member — Marisa Shipley, who's also vice president of IATSE Local 871 — tells us about her own working conditions and why she’s anxious about the future of her job and her colleagues’ careers.

More reading:

Hollywood union calls for strike authorization vote by crew workers

Celebs rally for IATSE: ‘Now is the time to speak for the people who make it possible’

War of words escalates between producers group and crews union

Bagels and lox, pastrami on rye and maybe a dollop of sour cream or applesauce on your latkes: The Jewish deli is a staple of American city life, and it’s delicious. But over the last decade, icons of the genre, from New York to Los Angeles, have shut down — even as the food itself has become more popular. So why are the delis disappearing?

Today we’re looking at the Jewish deli. It’s always been a nexus of tradition and assimilation, old country and new, with rugelach for dessert. Our guests: The Foward national editor Rob Eshman and Mort & Betty's chef and curator Megan Tucker

More reading:

In search of perfect pastrami: Your guide to the Jewish delis of Los Angeles

On Greenblatt’s Deli’s last night, guests waited for one final taste

The deli capital? It’s L.A.

Pudgy Penguins, Bored Apes and CryptoKitties — a Noah’s Ark of nonfungible tokens — are the latest trend for people trying to get rich and engage with art in a new way. NFTs might be a fad, but there’s a multibillion-dollar market for them.

Today, L.A. Times business reporter Sam Dean gives us a crash course in what exactly NFTs are and how to think about whether they’re worth your money. And NFT collectors Cooper Turley and Tim Kang tell us why they think the digital tokens could change our lives even if we don’t buy them.

Also: An update about last week’s episode “Our nation’s Haitian double standard.”

More reading:

$69 million for digital art? The NFT craze explained

Who can sell a Wonder Woman NFT? The guy who drew her or DC Comics?

How NFTs could affect sports

Today, a crossover episode with our L.A. Times cousin podcast “Asian Enough.” Hosts Tracy Brown and Jen Yamato interview novelist Min Jin Lee about leaving her legal career to write books, expressing Asian pride at a time of hate crimes, dealing with people whose stances you dislike, and working to change the world five minutes at a time.

The author also blows the hosts’ minds with her perspective on dealing with the pain of casual racism. “Min Jin, you’re giving me, like, a lifetime of therapy here.”

More reading:

Welcome to ‘Asian Enough,’ Season 2

Violence has Asian Americans questioning how far they have really come in their American journey

High School Insider column: Exploring my Korean identity — A follow-up to Min Jin Lee’s ‘Pachinko’

Op-ed: Coronavirus reminds Asian Americans that our belonging is conditional

Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark was the granddaughter of a freed man who fought in the Revolutionary War. She grew up educated and refined in Concord, Mass. Her mother was friends with families of some of America’s greatest thinkers, including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. So how did she end up in an unmarked grave near Los Angeles for 129 years?

Today, L.A. Times features writer Jeanette Marantos brings you the extraordinary story of how amateur historians nationwide got together to find Clark’s final resting place — and finally got her a tombstone.

More reading:

She was the Rosa Parks of her day. So why was she in an unmarked grave for 129 years?

How we got the story of Ellen Garrison Jackson Clark and her courageous, unsung life

LA Times Today: The ‘Rosa Parks of Concord MA,’ discovered in an unmarked grave in Altadena

Note: This episode mentions thoughts of suicide. 

Over the last month, the population of Del Rio, Texas, has jumped by half. The reason: refugees, many of them Haitian, have arrived and set up a tent city under a freeway overpass. They’re hoping for a chance to live in the United States, but the Biden administration isn’t so welcoming.

This isn’t anything new for Haitians. For decades, the U.S. has treated them far differently than other migrants from the Western Hemisphere.

Today, we go to the Del Rio camp and hear from Haitians who are staying there. And we dive into this refugee double standard that has immigration activists comparing President Biden to Donald Trump. Our guest is L.A. Times Houston bureau chief Molly Hennessy-Fiske. 

More reading:

U.S. begins removing Haitian migrants, but they continue to flock to Texas border

Confined to U.S. border camp, Haitian migrants wade to Mexico for supplies

Haitian migrants pour out of U.S. into Mexico to avoid being sent back to Haiti