Los Angeles

California law requires law enforcement agencies to release body cam footage of police shootings. Many departments shape those images into stories they want to tell.

California politicians need to show visible results in order to justify ongoing spending on homelessness. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom agree that clearing encampments is key. But making homelessness invisible fails to solve the root problems. As Bass emphasizes permanent solutions, will small gains be enough?

Public transit agencies in California are struggling to avoid a "fiscal cliff" — and to persuade riders to return after the COVID pandemic. Advocates and legislators are seeking more state aid, but there are no simple solutions.

A growing body of research warns that hydrogen itself can be a powerful contributor to global warming but neither local agencies nor California regulators seem to be paying attention.

A sizeable coalition has called for California's water regulator to take emergency measures to protect Mono Lake and suspend diversions to Los Angeles. The recent controversy offers a snapshot of how California struggles with longstanding water rights as drought periods persist.

In the first of an eight-part series, Anna Scott of KCRW takes listeners through the story of Veterans Row, a homeless encampment in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles and Oakland parents who received monthly cash without restrictions from new pilot programs said it did more than help them pay bills. What they gained, they said, was priceless — more time with their children.

The recent reappointment of Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore focused the attention on his work as a reformer rather than a crime-fighter. As L.A. history shows, law enforcement can do both. The more recent stumbles are less about the false choice between the two approaches, and more about the effectiveness of management.

Residents in both New York City and Chicago have at least 50 local representatives voicing their needs. Los Angeles has 15. After last year's council audio leak revealed how some L.A. officials tried to manipulate redistricting, California's largest city is reconsidering how it handles representation.

State and federal laws are not necessarily designed for the type of schemes revealed by the Los Angeles City Council audio leak. California legislators can act by mandating independent redistricting and outlining consequences for interference.