Guadalupe Herrera's cafe gives new meaning to the term "homegrown business." Rooted Cafe is housed in her front yard in South Los Angeles. This story was produced for JOUR 2950 and published after additional...

After working hard for nearly a decade to build up her children’s clothing and toy shop, Monkey Pants in Little Tokyo, Mychaela Hardy was excited to spend more time at home with her daughter, who was...

In 2014, I was studying engineering at Cypress College. I had a caring girlfriend and lived with my loving mother and older brother. From the outside, everything seemed great. I had people around me...

Jeremy Lua got the worst surprise on his birthday last year: Covid-19. “I have had asthma in the past, so it hit me harder than normal,” Lua, a student at CSU Channel Islands, said in an interview...

Jay Salazar considered himself a loyal employee. When his boss at the printing company where he worked asked him in late 2020 to drive 100 miles to Palm Springs to service some printers, he didn’t...

La Puente resident Emmanuel Salgado used the city as his canvas in the making of his latest music video “27 Dream”. Salgado, also known by his artistic name “Manny Maverik,” released the video...

At the age of 21, Martin Vogel was dispatched from rehabilitation after a life-threatening motorcycle racing accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He knew that newly paralyzed adults...

For many, the pandemic has been fraught with loneliness, economic hardships and fear of catching Covid-19 or passing it to a loved one. Not so for 9-year-old August Toshima. He felt some fear in...

That annoying ringing. I often asked myself, “Why?” when I heard it. I would stare at the pitch dark ceiling for a few minutes then look to my left.  The time: 4:25 a.m. I’d turn off the alarm,...

It started when I was 10 years old. “You need to start eating less,” my friend told me. That’s when it hit me: My classmates are almost all thin. Over the next few days and weeks, self-doubt...

Growing up, Luisa Leschin was surrounded by the arts and culture. Her mother was a concert pianist and her dad, a former president of El Salvador. As a child, she traveled around the world dancing...

Depression, panic attacks and anxiety. These are some of the challenges faced by three Los Angeles County residents who live in Echo Park, Montebello and El Sereno, respectively. On top of the mental...