“Pamper Me Day” comes to South LA



By Meghan Coyle | Annenberg Radio News

Hair stylist Aja Marie Chaff gives back to the community by cutting hair on Pamper Me Day. | Photo by Mirian Fuentes

Hair stylist Aja Marie Chaff gives back to the community by cutting hair on Pamper Me Day. | Photo by Mirian Fuentes

Homeless men and women relaxed for a spa day at Awesome Hair Salon in South L.A. on Monday Feb. 23. The salon provided free manicures, facials and haircuts to homeless individuals and those living in transitional housing for the second annual “Pamper Me Day”.

The event hoped to give these men and women a boost of confidence so they can see themselves in a new way.

Hairstylists such as Aja Marie Chaff spent time with participants to get a sense of their own individual style. Understanding who these people are and what they are looking for helps gives the customers a better experience, according to Chaff.

Martina Tegalo hasn’t had her hair cut since she attended the event last year.

“I always wait every year for this event because it’s a really special event,” she said.

Sheila Thorne, founder and CEO of the Women of Color Entrepreneur Directory, organized the event. The event is her way of paying it forward to thank all those that helped her when she was homeless.

Thorne estimates Awesome Hair Salon served 25 customers during the event. The salon hopes to make the event a regular occurrence.

Room on the road for bike route to Watts



Can I get a lane? More than 200 people took to their bikes for the Ride to Love.

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An East Side Riders member shows off his biker vest. | S. Monte

Lowriders, fixies, and three wheelers all shared the road Saturday during the bike Ride for Love in Watts.

It was “a time to be free in your community,” said Fred Buggs, President of the East Side Riders Bike Club. More than 200 cyclists of all ages cruised from Ted Watkins Park to the Watts Towers, resting at a few notable intersections and pit stops along the way. The event was organized by East Side Riders, Los Riders, United Riders bicycle clubs, and C.I.C.L.E working in collaboration.

People outside their homes and walking along the sidewalks waved and cheered as riders passed through neighborhoods at a steady 5 mph. Many drivers honked and smiled. [Read more…]

South LA liquor stores may put residents’ health at risk



Kenny's Market | Morgan Greenwald

Kenny’s Market | Morgan Greenwald

On West 48th Street in Hyde Park, a neighborhood of South L.A., children soak in the afternoon sun on swing sets and plastic slides at Angeles Mesa Park. Just down the street, amid residential streets lined with quiet houses, Kenny’s Market & Liquor stands covered in bright yellow paint, its luminescent ‘liquor’ sign inviting passersby to peek inside.

According to the 2012 “Health Atlas” compiled by city and county departments, Kenny’s Market & Liquor is just one of 152 establishments with an off-sale liquor license in South L.A.

This license allows a person to purchase alcohol at the establishment and consume it off the premises. South L.A. has one of the highest numbers of off-sale licenses in Los Angeles. [Read more…]

Mayor Eric Garcetti tours South LA’s District 9



Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks to journalists at Powerfest South LA. Garcetti said he wants Los Angeles to register more people for health care than anywhere else in the US. Photo by Katherine Davis.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks to journalists at Powerfest South LA in 2013. | Katherine Davis

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Curren Price toured businesses and met with residents of South L.A.’s 9th District last week as part of the mayor’s efforts to examine how districts around the city tackle issues such as homelessness, employment, youth empowerment and community beautification.

[Read more…]

Volunteers tally South LA’s homeless, counting one by one



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Homeless Count volunteers show their certificates of completion. | Stephanie Monte

Instead of the usual dinner and birthday cake, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker spent her birthday in a more altruistic way: She gathered a group of family and friends to volunteer for the biennial Homeless Count on Thursday night. The “Happy Birthday Jackie” group joined nearly 100 volunteers at Holman United Methodist Church, one of South L.A.’s deployment sites for the count. This South L.A. contingent represented a fraction of the 6,000 volunteers who gathered data on the city’s homeless population over three days under the supervision of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority.

“We want to be a part of the 2015 revived mission to eliminate homelessness,” Dupont-Walker said. “We think this is a part of it.”

L.A.’s Homeless Count is the nation’s largest program taking a headcount of people living on the streets. L.A.’s homeless population is second in size only to the homeless population of New York City.

Homelessness in South L.A. is more common than any other part of the county. The 2013 Homeless Count tallied more than 11,000 homeless people in South L.A. Six of the seven other districts counted a significantly smaller homeless population, with estimates ranging from 2,500 homeless to 8,000. Service Planning Area 4, Metro Los Angeles including Skid Row, with about 10,500 homeless individuals was the only area with an estimate similar to South L.A.’s Area 6. [Read more…]

South LA barbershops buzz with camaraderie and culture



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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


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Cecil Murray, South LA’s civic leader and spiritual guide



The respected pastor who helped put out fires of the 1992 riots now fosters religious dialogue at USC.

Cecil Murray

Cecil Murray gets settled in his USC office. | Jordyn Holman

Since late November, residents from South Los Angeles have been peacefully protesting courthouse decisions to not indict police officers in Missouri and New York who killed two young unarmed Black men in the line of duty.

For Rev. Dr. Cecil Murray, the former pastor of South L.A.’s First African Methodist Episcopal Church, the demonstrations in memory of Michael Brown and Eric Garner bring to mind L.A. protests of days gone by in that they aimed to shed light on the disconnect between police officers and the people they serve.

[Read more…]

Footnotes from South LA schoolday walks



By Randal Henry and Manal Aboelata-Henry

As parents guide their kids to school on foot, the family experiences the joys of living in a walkable neighborhood. They soon launch Crenshaw Walks to encourage others to join.

The Henry family proudly wears Crenshaw Walks t-shirts at the 2014 Taste of Soul. | Randal Henry

The Henry family proudly wears Crenshaw Walks t-shirts at the 2014 Taste of Soul. | Randal Henry

It’s 7:20 AM on a brisk, sunny Monday in South L.A. Brothers Taj and Sadiq check the ‘‘velcro’’ on their hushpuppies and take one last look to make sure lunch pails and homework folders are tucked into their backpacks. Check. Off they go to the nearest Metro Station, about a 12 minute walk. Many people walk in our neighborhood, so most days, Taj and Sadiq say hello to other Crenshaw Manor walkers or talk to their parents along the way.

If the car traffic on Coliseum St. isn’t too heavy and the lights at Crenshaw and Rodeo are just right, they’ll stroll up the platform just in time for the 7:40 train. They might even have an extra moment to find a penny someone’s left behind at the TAP machine. Some days they get stuck waiting for a lull in the steady stream of cars at an unmarked crosswalk at Coliseum or the light at Crenshaw won’t turn until they’ve seen the eastbound train bolt through the intersection. In that case, they wait for the 7:52 train. But, either way, the 7 minute train ride will get them to school well in time for their 8:05 bell.  [Read more…]

An ex-gang member on curtailing South LA’s recidivism rate



Beron Thompkins in class at the Black Male Youth Academy. | Photo courtesy of the Social Justice Learning Institute

Beron Thompkins in class at the Black Male Youth Academy. | Photo courtesy of the Social Justice Learning Institute

Beron Thompkins remembers his first encounter with the Los Angeles Police Department when he was a 12-year-old. He and his 14-year-old cousin were walking down the street in their South L.A. neighborhood when two policemen driving by asked them to pull up their shirts.

“We were minding our own business. They didn’t ask us where we were going and they didn’t tell us to stop,” Thompkins said. “My cousin said, ‘Ignore them.’ So, we kept walking.”

Thompkins said the police then sped up, swerved in front of them, and threw them onto the hood. The police told them that they had received a call that two black men had just robbed a lady in a nearby park.

[Read more…]

Tornado tears through South LA, ripping five roofs and spooking all



South L.A., moments before the tornado swirled in earnest, caught on tape by an onlooker. |ABC7 screenshot

South L.A., moments before the tornado swirled in earnest, caught on tape by an onlooker. | ABC7 screenshot

Well, this is a rare headline.

A tornado swirling at least 65 miles per hour touched down in South Los Angeles Friday morning, ripping the roofs off several homes, flinging trash and debris into the air and leaving onlookers gaping in disbelief at the vicious, rare display of weather.

Some recorded videos that the National Weather Service later used to rank the mini-twister at level EF0, the smallest on the scale, which can spin up to 85 miles per hour.

“Look at that, look at that!” said one man in a heavily bleeped-out video obtained by ABC7, just seconds before the tornado began spinning in earnest. “What the bleep!” he exclaimed, multiple times, as palm trees swayed at their waists and debris got catapulted over his head and onto the adjacent roof.

In less than a minute, it was over. “Look what that did to our neighborhood, yo,” the cameraman concluded in astonishment.

Watch the action here:

According to the L.A. Times, the fierce wind succeeded at damaging a total of five homes, including tearing the roof off a duplex. A steel-edged sign that crashed into a window at the Garr Learning Center spooked the preschoolers inside, but none were injured.

To see the damage for yourself, visit the intersection of S. Vermont and W. Gage and head to 57th St. and Figueroa.

Did you see the tornado?! Tell us about it in the comments below and email pictures to [email protected]

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