Bobby Ramirez, who grew up in El Sereno, had a cousin that graduated from Columbia Law School and another doing life in prison. Which cousin’s path would he follow? The right choice seems obvious...

I used to be an objectively worse student than my peers in elementary school: I got lower grades, was worse at physical activities, and was immature for my age.  Three years later, I got into Cal State...

There are decades-old tensions where the I-605 and I-10 converge. The unassuming Southern California town of El Monte, located about 14 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, is home to many longtime residents...

When was the last time you saw an altercation or harassment out in public? Did you help or avoid getting involved: After all, who wants to be a bully’s new target? Most people don’t intervene because...

Abolition has come up a lot over the past year or so in discussions of police brutality and defunding prisons. For one El Monte abolition reading circle, abolition is that and also a more personal journey. One...

While cities across Los Angeles County prepare for New Year’s celebrations, Alhambra is known for organizing a Lunar New Year festival about one month later. Whether that would happen this year remained...

Four dancers wear headpieces adorned with fierce animal heads. They ask ancestors for permission to perform honored traditions, commanding the attention of a hushed crowd. As the performers throw themselves...

Of the long list of improvements Lincoln Heights residents are seeking for their community — rent stabilization, more affordable housing, better parking — none seem to be more urgent for some than...

Norma Pérez was stunned as she watched the 2005 documentary “Earthlings.” She couldn’t shake off scenes of animals being skinned alive and close-ups of shelter dogs being euthanized. With...

Echo Park residents say the homeless encampment evictions this week represent a bitter stew that has been simmering for years and boiled over during the pandemic. Contributing to the shutdown, they...

Some El Monte residents waiting for relief from the homelessness crisis will be waiting a little longer than expected for help. The city received $17.7 million from the state’s Homekey program on...

When husband-and-wife team Marcos Aguilar and Minnie Ferguson wanted to start a charter school centered on their culture and taught partly in Nahuatl, a native language of the Aztecs, they realized they...