Category: 1-HeadlineNews

Nearly a century ago, government officials pushed a Black family from their beachfront property in the Southern California city of Manhattan Beach. Now, in what could be a landmark in this nation’s efforts to correct past injustices to African Americans, the land is being returned to the family’s descendants.

Today, we have an update to our June episode about the fight over Bruce’s Beach. And we hear from the historians, family members and grass-roots organizers who championed this cause for years until it could not be ignored. We also speak with L.A. Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia about her work, which amplified the story of Bruce’s Beach to the world.

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Newsom signs bill to return Bruce’s Beach to Black family

Op-Ed: Bruce’s Beach will be returned to my family. I hope our fight will help others

Editorial: Beyond Bruce’s Beach is the tarnished American dream for Black Americans

Manhattan Beach was once home to Black beachgoers, but the city ran them out. Now it faces a reckoning

Milwaukee is in the grips of the worst violence in its modern history. There were 189 killings there last year — the most ever recorded, almost twice as many as the year before.

It’s not just Milwaukee. The nonprofit Council on Criminal Justice looked at 34 U.S. cities and found that 29 had more homicides last year than in 2019. What has caused this surge? How is it affecting members of the hardest-hit communities?

Today, Los Angeles Times national correspondent Kurtis Lee takes us to Milwaukee’s north side to explore the neighborhood’s history and present and to hear from community members: victims’ families, as well as a pastor, a retiring police detective and a funeral home director. He also reflects on how it feels to be a young Black man covering the deaths of so many young Black men.

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On the front lines of the U.S. homicide epidemic: Milwaukee faces historic violence

A year like no other for L.A. crime: Homicides surge, robberies and rapes drop

Op-Ed: Homicide rates are up. To bring them down, empower homegrown peacekeepers

Nursing is a tough job in good times, and the COVID-19 pandemic made it a lot tougher. Within a few months of the start of the pandemic, U.S. healthcare workers reported high rates of anxiety, frustration, emotional and physical exhaustion and burnout.

Now we’re a year and a half in. We’ve got vaccines, but the Delta variant still poses a big threat. So how are nurses holding up?

Today, nurses tell us about their experiences and how they’re coping, personally and professionally.

Host: L.A. Times utility journalism reporter Karen Garcia

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Nurses have had a tough year (and then some). You can learn from their resilience

 

Op-Ed: As a doctor in a COVID unit, I’m running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shot

Tracking the coronavirus in California

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.

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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.

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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