Sammy Ross is friend and counselor as well as hair-trimmer at Magnificent Brother. | Sarah Zahedi
The traditional barbershop is known for fostering conversation and camaraderie. With many of these shops closing, two barber shops in South Los Angeles are striving to keep that tradition alive.
Magnificent Brothers No. 1 Barber Shop
4267 Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles
A packed house turned out at City Hall to discuss plans for the Budlong drill site. | Matt Tinoco
More than 150 Angelenos showed up at City Hall on Tuesday to voice concerns about oil giant Freeport McMoRan’s plans to expand operations in its urban-drilling facility located in South L.A. near the University of Southern California.
A room on the 10th floor of City Hall was filled with a sea of Angelenos from various walks of life, ranging from the working-class residents of apartment buildings bordering the facility to committed ecological warriors residing in Hollywood Hills.
Their collective demand was simple: Require a full environmental impact report before permitting the oil company to proceed with its plans for expansion. This meeting had been organized to allow the public to direct comments to Maya Zaitzevsky, associate zoning administrator for Los Angeles.
See also: West Adams neighbors seek to oust oil production [Read more…]
One of the dogs at a recent vaccination fair held at the South L.A. Animal Care Center. | Anita Kelso Edson/ASPCA
The City Attorney’s office announced last week that work on an almost $10 million contract awarded to Mackone Construction and its subcontractors had been done with underpaid workers. The city alleges that “almost fifty” workers building the South L.A. Animal Care Center were denied overtime, underrepresented in workman’s compensation claims and paid lump sums of cash that added up to below city-mandated prevailing wage.
Learn more in an audio story from Annenberg Radio News:
Monte Hayes,71, had only to walk down the street from his home to check out the Taste of Soul festival for the very first time.
“To me it means, all people of all races are here and it’s like, ‘taste me, I’m good,’” he said.
The 9th annual celebration was held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and took over a mile of Crenshaw Boulevard from Stocker Avenue to Rodeo Road, where families and friends from all walks of life danced in the street. Attracting 350,000 people this year, the street festival presented by The Sentinel newspaper bills itself as L.A.’s largest.
Signature South L.A. restaurants provided the “tastes,” including What the Funnel, Dulan’s on Crenshaw, Southern Girl Desserts, Post and Beam and Yo Halal’s popcorn.
The festival also brings out a unique blend of soulful sounds and artists each year. This time, the lineup featured Tyrese, Angie Fisher, AKNU, Michelle Williams and many other performers across four main stages, along with young artists featured on the “StarQuest” stage. [Read more…]
Vice President Joe Biden came to town Tuesday, meeting up with Mayor Eric Garcetti and business leaders at the L.A. Baking Company in Lincoln Heights to talk dollars and cents. As the scent of scones and croissants wafted through the crowd, Biden emphasized that in order to stimulate the economy, consumers and businesses must invest not only in infrastructure, but also in better paying jobs. The Los Angeles City Council recently voted 12 to 3 in favor of increasing the minimum wage to $13.25.
Hear comments from Biden and Garcetti in a radio piece for Annenberg Radio News:
See also: City Council favors raising minimum wage for hotel workers
South Los Angeles residents walk pass the construction site for the Crenshaw/LAX line on Crenshaw and Exposition Boulevards a few months ago. | Jordyn Holman
Construction and expansion are usually good things, but they can come at a steep prices.
For those in the Crenshaw Corridor, a new light rail line coming through their neighborhood may eventually cost them their livelihoods. That’s why Mayor Eric Garcetti and others on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Board of Directors approved a pilot funding program on Thursday that will help small businesses in the area stay afloat during construction of the new line.
Heavy construction on the Crenshaw/LAX line started earlier this year, and businesses say they are losing customers due to the lack of sidewalks, parking and visibility. [Read more…]
The vote tally — three people dissenting. | Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy/ Facebook
South L.A. residents working in the hotel industry might see their hourly wages rise by just over a half beginning next summer.
The Los Angeles City Council took a vote on the issue Wednesday, with 12 out of 15 council members agreeing to raise the minimum wage to $15.37 per hour for workers employed in the city’s largest hotels. The minimum wage is currently $9 per hour.
Council members Bernard Parks, Mitchell Englander and Paul Krekorian dissented. Because the city council did not reach a unanimous decision, it will revisit the issue next week for a final vote. The city council must reach a unanimous decision during next week’s vote for the higher minimum wage to take effect. [Read more…]
Trader Joe’s | Rebecca
In 1967, the first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena. The supermarket chain began selling its organic pretzels and “Two Buck-Chuck” wine among other groceries outside of California in the 1990s and grew to operate more than 400 stores nationwide.
Now, for the first time, Trader Joe’s is coming to South L.A.
The store has committed to opening a location at the forthcoming USC Village, located on Hoover and 31st streets near the Figueroa Corridor, according to USC University Communications.
Many residents who live in the area are rejoicing. [Read more…]
Community members, student leaders, trustees and local politicians break ground with USC president Max Nikias. | Phoenix Tso/Neon Tommy
Nearly 950 members of the USC community gathered Monday morning in 90-degree weather to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new USC Village, a project that aims to raise USC’s reputation around the world.
“There will be no one to catch up to,” said USC president C.L. Max Nikias about the appeal of specific project features to incoming students. These features include the 2700 beds to be added by 2017, and the retail space that will open up and about the McCarthy Honors College, which Trustee Kathleen Leavey McCarthy donated $30 million to build for incoming merit scholarship students. “Everyone will want to go where the action is.”
In the days leading up to the groundbreaking, admissions officials were excitedly anticipating how to market these features to next year’s freshmen. During the ceremony, President Nikias spoke of how USC was committed to transforming from a commuter university to a residential one, like “other preeminent universities.”
“This is special for us,” said Timothy Brunold, USC Dean of Admissions, in a phone interview in the days leading up to the groundbreaking. “The students we’re currently recruiting will be able to use it.” [Read more…]
URBAN TxT Demo Day 2014 | Willa Seidenberg
“South L.A. is a tech desert, but URBAN TxT is changing that,” proclaimed Oscar Menjivar, founder of Urban TxT (Teens Exploring Technology) at the organization’s Demo Day 2014, held Saturday at the University of Southern California’s Salvatori Hall.
URBAN TxT, which announced it is rebranding itself as TxT, is a non-profit that works with inner-city boys to develop tomorrow’s technology leaders and to bring change to their communities. [Read more…]
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