LOS ANGELES – By 9 a.m. Monday morning, Los Angeles city workers had mostly cleared a large, long-standing homeless camp on South Vermont Avenue that had become a breeding ground for violence and crime. Tractors scraped the streets, lifting garbage and debris into waiting sanitation trucks while a police car and a parking enforcement vehicle remained nearby. By the end of the afternoon, the majority of the 3-4 dozen campers, trailers and dilapidated cars that had been parked on both sides of the side pocket street, from W. 65th to S. Florence Avenue, was gone. The streets remained clear into…
Author: Jacy Hanes
As Karen Bass approaches her 100 days in the Los Angeles Mayor’s office next week, her tenure has been singularly focused on rectifying the city’s homelessness crisis. But her efforts, though pro-active, have not only left doubt about whether or not the problem will be adequately addressed, but they raise questions about her ability to focus on other chronic citywide issues, as well. During her Mayoral campaign, Bass pledged to get 17,000 of the approximately 60,000 homeless in LA off the streets by the end of her first year in office. Since January she has been attacking that goal with…
By: Jacy Hanes The noticeable increase in the number of people working out since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold is long overdue. But the most popular gym in the Los Angeles area has not been able to keep up with the demand, leaving many wondering why. In March 2020, gyms across the area were shuttered, as U.S. residents entered an unprecedented lockdown period. Three months later 24 Hour Fitness declared bankruptcy and announced plans to close 300 gyms across the country. In Los Angeles, that meant the end of the downtown and West Hollywood locations, while the Hollywood gym remained…
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hit the ground running when she was sworn into office last week. The former state Representative made good on a promise to sign an emergency declaration on the homelessness crisis – her first official act – and then took steps to make affordable housing construction easier. She said in a news conference today that the number of homeless citizens, now estimated to be between 40,000-60,000, will be significantly reduced over the next four years. No doubt this is a welcome prospect for a city that has homeless people living on streets in tents, vehicles, RVs…
LOS ANGELES – The morning after a leaked audio recording of three LA City Council members ignited a citywide furor in October, the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD) were at City Hall leading a protest, wearing some freshly-made gear. Courtesy of BLAYD In one of the most controversial outtakes of her conversation with fellow councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin de Leon, then council president Nury Martinez, who resigned later that week, had used profanity in talking about LA district attorney George Gascon. She added, “he’s with the Blacks.” The BLAYD contingent showed up to demonstrate at the scheduled council…
It’s been over a decade since the state took control of the Inglewood Unified School District, after years of mismanagement depleted its funds and threatened its existence. It would seem that after such a long time, local control would have been returned. But a variety of the district’s practices, and ongoing issues, are preventing it from moving forward. Unlike other districts, IUSD schools accept all students. They enroll transfers, grant permits, and take students who have been expelled from other educational institutions, from any area. When these young people – who are often not from the close-knit Inglewood community -…
Most of the Los Angeles city services that were shut down or curtailed during the pandemic have been restored. But one – street sweeping and sanitation – remains on partial lockdown. Photo: Jacy Hanes In March 2021, the city cut street sweeping from weekly to twice per month, due to staff shortages. The lack of employees stemmed from a citywide hiring freeze due to the pandemic, and resulting loss of funds. But as the city has begun to recover financially, some departmemts are still struggling to hire staff. That includes the Department of Public Works. As a result, street services…
If it seems like there are fewer street takeovers happening lately, an LAPD crackdown operation might be the reason. For over two months, officers in the South, Central, West and Valley traffic divisions have prevented or interrupted large crowds from holding intersections and streets hostage for periods of time, while they perform car stunts. The emphasis so far has resulted in more than 850 citations being issued, and almost 200 vehicle impounds. “It’s about enforcement and education,” said 77th Street Station Capt. Hendley Hawkins, who has been presenting the information to local neighborhood councils. Hendley said that task forces were…
In just the second week of the school year, many Inglewood Unified School District teachers and students are facing a major issue: excessively hot classrooms with little or no airflow. As temperatures soared into triple digits last week during Southern California’s first major heat wave of the year, the district’s older schools didn’t have the resources to combat the weather, as only IUSD’s newer or remodeled schools have air conditioning and acceptable ventilation. The circumstances left district and school officials scrambling, and made for a rough start to a year in which the district, like others around the country, need…
INGLEWOOD – Ten years ago, the state of California took control of the Inglewood Unified School District after years of mismanagement had left it almost broke. Hopes soared that the once-robust 17-school district, which was 18,000 students strong at the turn of the century, would rebound and return to glory as a flagship of the South Bay. Sadly, this has not only failed to come to fruition, but the district is in even worse shape than before it entered receivership. Enrollment has fallen to under 9,000 students, and teachers and classified staff have exited in droves, leaving skeleton crews at…