South LA street cooks could soon go legit

March 20, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Felipa Mayo cooks tacos each weekend outside her home on Compton Boulevard. | Daina Beth Solomon

Felipa Mayo cooks tacos each weekend outside her home on Compton Boulevard. Scroll down for a photo slideshow featuring other street cooks and street foods. | Daina Beth Solomon

Felipa Mayo starts her job the same way each weekend. She heads out to the sidewalk of her stucco bungalow on Compton Boulevard and checks to make sure there are no cops around.

Then she pulls a white toque over her brown hair bun, sets up a few folding tables in the driveway and unpacks the contraband she’s so worried about getting busted for selling: Tacos.

The corn tortillas served with chicken, beef or goat could get Mayo in trouble with the law.

The hundred other weekend vendors on this bustling stretch of Compton Boulevard in South Los Angeles -– some selling quesadillas, burritos and pupusas, others hawking merchandise ranging from electronics to underwear – operate with caution too. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Community, Food, More on Intersections, Politics Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

St. John’s health center in South LA to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour

March 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment


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Councilman Curren Price with St. John’s employees | Skylar E. Myers

South L.A.’s largest health center has decided to increase the minimum wage of its workers to $15 an hour, making St. John’s Well Child & Family Center one of the nation’s first nonprofits to move from minimum wage to living-wage.

Jim Mangria, St. John’s president and CEO, made the announcement today in front of a crowd of workers and community members who chanted, “Fifteen! Fifteen! Fifteen!”

To hear sounds and perspectives from the event, click play on a radio story from Annenberg Radio News:

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Photo Credit: Skylar E. Myers

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Health, More on Intersections Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Earlez Grille relocates to make way for Crenshaw/LAX line

March 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Earlez sign | Ela Bernal

Earlez Grille sign at Crenshaw and Exposition. | Ela Bernal

There’s something special about a place that adapts to changing times while remaining true to its origins. For more than 25 years, Earlez Grille in the Crenshaw district has done just that.

Earlez owner Duane Earl said his secret recipes for hot dogs, burgers and chili have less to do with ingredients than simply “paying attention to how you cook” and using “common sense.” Oh, and one more thing: “People can tell when you don’t put love into food.”

Hear the sizzle of the Earlez grill in an audio piece from Annenberg Radio News:

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Crenshaw, Culture, Food, Leimert Park Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Vergee’s Palace de Bella Donna hair salon prepares for Leimert Park changes

February 25, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Vergee’s Palace de Bella Donna is one of several small businesses concerned that the expansion of Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line will drive them out of business. The hair salon is a cultural icon in the predominantly African-American neighborhood of Leimert Park. Owner Vergie Huddleston has been there for several decades and says construction of the line would not only endanger her business but also many others in the area.

Huddleston has led many apprentices to become hair stylists and has also raised foster children. She says the most important thing in her life is to continue doing just that, fulfilling her mission to help the many young people who seek her guidance to succeed. And of course, to pass on the legacy of her unique way of hairstyling.

 

Read more about Leimert Park on Intersections: 

Leimert Park art renaissance in bloom at Papillion gallery

Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line brings promise of jobs, revitalization to South LA

Leimert Park envisions the neighborhood in 2020

Leimert Park Phone Company debuts reinvented pay phones

Filed Under: Business, Community, Culture, Featured Story, Leimert Park Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Councilmembers call for increased hotel worker wages

February 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Nury Martinez, Mike Bonin and Curren Price outside City Hall | Katherine Davis

Nury Martinez, Mike Bonin and Curren Price outside City Hall | Katherine Davis

City Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Nury Martinez and Curren Price Jr. are proposing an increase of hotel worker wages to $15.37 per hour, a change that would apply to as many as 11,000 hotel employees working in hotels throughout Los Angeles that offer more than 100 rooms. The councilmembers, including Price from South L.A.’s District 9, say that as L.A.’s tourism industry grows, hotel workers deserve a share in the wealth. Some business organizations, however, are hesitant about the plan.

Click play on an audio story from Annenberg Radio News to hear arguments for and against the hike in pay. 

Filed Under: Business, Politics Tagged With: , , , , ,

Metro’s Crenshaw/LAX line brings promise of jobs, revitalization to South LA

February 13, 2014 By Leave a Comment


Metro's Expo Line | Intersections

The new Crenshaw/LAX line will connect to the existing Expo line | Intersections

Raymond Castro, a 44-year-old unemployed worker, is woefully familiar with Los Angeles’ infamous traffic snarls. Castro has been working construction for more than 30 years and has spent a considerable amount of time — sometimes more than two hours — commuting to various work sites. Now, a hiring provision recently implemented by Metro could make it possible for Castro to stay in his South Los Angeles neighborhood for work.

Castro said he hopes the Project Labor Agreement “opens up opportunities for myself and others” living in the community.

The 8.5-mile Crenshaw/LAX light rail line, approved for construction in 2012, promised to connect the Crenshaw Corridor to other parts of the city, such as the South Bay and the Los Angeles International Airport. And in 2011 when Metro passed the Project Labor Agreement, a measure aimed to designate a percentage of the construction jobs to local residents, residents presumed the line construction meant an opportunity for employment. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Crenshaw, Featured Story Tagged With: , , , ,

West Adams neighbors seek to oust oil production

February 10, 2014 By Leave a Comment


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Freeport McMoRan facility at 1371 Jefferson Blvd. | Stephanie Monte

Residents in the historic West Adams neighborhood are taking a stand against an unwanted new neighbor, Freeport McMoRan Oil and Gas, which set up drilling operations there last year.

More than 100 residents have mobilized in an effort to halt FMOG operations–to keep their community safe and their air and water unpolluted, they say.

Residents and environmental organizers, united under the banner CoWatching Oil LA, are pushing for more transparency and healthier practices in L.A.’s natural gas and oil industries. They met last Thursday at the LA84 Foundation, directly across the street from the Murphy site, to strategize and formally file complaints with the Air Quality and Management Division, which regulates all oil drilling activities.

Eventually, they hope to force the suspension of all urban oil drilling in Los Angeles. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Environment, Health, West Adams Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Proud Bird restaurant closes Dec. 21 after 47 years

December 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment


The Proud Bird | Katherine Davis

The Proud Bird prepares to close. | Katherine Davis

[Update: The Proud Bird announced Dec. 13 that it would, in fact, be able to remain open.]

After nearly 50 years of serving filet mignon dinners and champagne brunches, the much loved Proud Bird Restaurant neighboring LAX is preparing to close its doors for good on Dec. 21. What will patrons and employees remember about this richly-decorated, aviation-themed, banquet-ready eatery?

Hear their comments — and the sounds of whizzing planes — in an audio story from Annenberg Radio News: 

And click here to view a photo slideshow by Katherine Davis. 

Diners enjoy one of The Proud Bird's last meals. | Katherine Davis

Diners enjoy one of The Proud Bird’s last meals. | Katherine Davis

Filed Under: Business, Community, Food Tagged With: ,

Leimert Park’s World Stage fights eviction

November 22, 2013 By Leave a Comment


The World Stage in Leimert Park -- co-founded by poet Kamau Daàood and legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins -- faces an uncertain future.

The World Stage, co-founded by poet Kamau Daàood and legendary jazz drummer Billy Higgins, faces an uncertain future. | Brianna Sacks

Founded in 1989, The World Stage has become the cornerstone for Leimert Park, L.A.’s historic hub for African-American arts and culture.

The World Stage’s jam sessions, jazz performances, youth groups and writing workshop have been a model for countless other nonprofit literary arts groups around Southern California and the nation, according to KCET. It has also churned out some of the nation’s most famous jazz musicians and poets over its 25 years.

Last May, Leimert Park found out that its two-year fight for a metro stop on the incoming Crenshaw/LAX line would become a reality.

Shortly after, the World Stage’s owners and their neighbors learned that the building had been sold and eviction notices were handed out to the stage and many other businesses.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Arts, Business, Community, Culture, Featured Story, Leimert Park Tagged With: , , ,

South LA welcomes new retail center

November 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment


District Square | Photo Credit: KGTY

District Square | Photo Credit: KGTY

A new 300,000 square-foot retail center is set to hit the Crenshaw District and will replace businesses that have been in the community for decades.

The project, titled District Square, is set to replace a Rite Aid, Ralph’s and Cleaners, which have been community staples for over a decade. The two-story center will bring a host of new retailers to the Crenshaw District, which spans over five miles of South Los Angeles. It is expected to include a Target, Ross, Marshall’s and leasing space for other vendors and retailers.

The project manager for engineering company KGTY couldn’t comment on the project’s timeline or budget, but the website confirms that its client, The Charles Company, has designed the location to include both upper and lower level parking with access to retail stores on all levels. Although a deadline for the project’s completion is unknown, community members and leaders have expressed excitement about a brand-new center coming to the dilapidated neighborhood. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Crenshaw, Development, Real Estate Tagged With: , ,
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