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Boyle Heights Beat
Meet Boyle Heights Beat’s newest reporters
In late summer, Boyle Heights Beat welcomed its two newest reporters – both part of the inaugural cohort of the California Local News Fellowship program. The fellows, Andrew Lopez and Ricky Rodas, are Los Angeles natives who are ready to serve and inform Boyle Heights and the Eastside communities.
Unique LA sounds and hard-to-find gems – they’re at Boyle Heights’ Sonido del Valle
On a recent Tuesday afternoon, Rene Perez, 38, was enjoying a peaceful moment at his record shop, Sonido Del Valle, on 1st Street in Boyle Heights. While at its current location since 2021, it’s been providing music to the neighborhood since 2016. Perez sorted old records in the Tejano...
Man shot and killed on 1st Street
A man shot Wednesday near 1st St. and Mott Street has died. An LAPD spokesperson told Boyle Heights Beat that police officers from Hollenbeck division arrived on the scene around 4:33 pm after hearing multiple gunshots in the area. The victim, who is described only as a Hispanic male in...
Dr. Rocío-Rivas: advocating for Eastside schools, turning them into safe places
As a first-generation immigrant from Mexico, Dr. Rocío Rivas remembers growing up in a new environment in East LA, where she struggled with her identity as a Mexican and an American. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1996 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Development Studies. She then earned her Doctorate from Columbia University in 2008 in Comparative and International Education.
A 10-year stride: Boyle Heights Bridge Runners aren’t slowing down
It’s been ten years since a small group of runners from the Eastside took the streets to run across the bridges of Boyle Heights. The Boyle Heights Bridge Runners are a running collective that started in 2013 with less than a dozen runners. They have both two- and three-mile running groups with up to 70 runners at every run, and attract up to 250 for special events.
Man waiting in car shot and killed in Boyle Heights
Authorities say a man was shot and killed in Boyle Heights Wednesday night. According to a spokesperson from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), the victim, identified only as a 45-year-old man, was sitting inside of his parked vehicle near the intersection of City View Avenue and Brittania Street when the suspect pulled up in a vehicle next to him at around 9:20 p.m.
Voices and vignettes from annual Boyle Heights 5k
Seasoned runners, easy-going walkers, and everyone in between took to the streets of Boyle Heights Saturday morning in celebration of the annual Boyle Heights 5k Walk/Run and Munchkin Fun Run, a short race for children, on closed city streets. The race began at Mariachi Plaza, where competitors young and old...
Rubén Guevara III previews docu-series exploring historical ties between Little Tokyo and Boyle Heights
The average Angeleno may not consider Japanese and Chicano cultural crossovers going beyond sushi-burritos at food trucks or Hot Cheeto-tinged Japanese snacks in Little Tokyo. But students, professors, and community members met last week inside Cal State LA’s Student Union building to discuss the relationship between the two Eastside communities and how deep the connections go.
Cultural appropriation takes the stage in ‘Tacos La Brooklyn’
As the imaginary curtain rises on “Tacos LA Brooklyn,” the first thing you see is the silhouette of a chola in typical gear –baggy pants, tank top, the works. “Another play exploiting the stereotype” you might immediately think, exhaling a not-so-imaginary gasp. That perception is...
DJ Sizzle Fantastic: using cumbia to uplift her community
DJ Sizzle Fantastic has got an energy unlike any other. With her bubbly attitude and positivity, she can brighten the room in an instant. Sizzle, whose given name is Zacil Vazquez, has been working with music since she was 15 years old and is the creator of the popular event series known as Cumbiatón.
El Velorio: an artful celebration of life and death
The 13th annual El Velorio, a traditional Eastside Dia de los Muertos celebration, was held Saturday at Plaza de la Raza Cultural Center in Lincoln Heights. A long line of attendees anxiously waited to enter the event that featured live music, an assortment of delicious Mexican cuisine and artist vendors, not to mention car and bike shows.
On the carless streets of Boyle Heights, cyclists and pedestrians reign supreme
Thousands of Southern Californians took to the streets of Boyle Heights and beyond this Sunday thanks to Metro’s CicLAvia, an event that offers pedestrians, cyclists, and scooterists a chance to walk, run, or ride on closed city streets throughout Los Angeles communities in a more environmentally friendly way. People...
Rhythmic remembrance and dance shine in ‘Queen of the Rumba’
Every step we take in life becomes a part of our journey, from rushing paces towards the future to simple strolls enjoying where we find ourselves. As time goes by, our stories tend to fade when we don’t tell them, even when our steps leave their mark on the world.
Race for CD-14 seat is on; here’s how much 13 candidates have raised so far
With just 21 weeks until the Council District 14’s primary election, candidates have raised $879,254.48 in contribution funds to date. Data made available this week from Los Angeles’ Ethics Commission reveals all CD-14 candidates’ campaign contributions and expenses from July 1 to September 30. City rules cap individual donations at $900 dollars per person.
A Sunday stroll through the “Heart of LA” and more to do on the Eastside this season
I’m sure you’ve probably already heard of and maybe even taken part in the car-free festival known as CicLAvia at some point, but did you know that Boyle Heights was part of the event’s inaugural route in 2010? Back then, around 100,000 people took to the streets to explore the neighborhood and different areas in Downtown LA, kicking off what would become a well-established tradition.
Two Boyle Heights nonprofits split $775k in rent assistance funding
More than 150 Boyle Heights tenants struggling to pay rent will have a new opportunity for rental assistance from LA’s first attempt at a citizens-led budgeting program. Two Boyle Heights-based nonprofits were awarded a total of $775,000 from L.A. REPAIR Participatory Budgeting, a pilot program of the city’s Civil + Human Rights and Equity Department (LA Civil Rights).
Mauro Bautista: making a positive impact in the community
Méndez High School principal Mauro Bautista is often seen by students in the neighborhood, shopping at the Northgate supermarket on Soto Street or eating at Tacos El Pecas, near Salesian High School. Bautista enjoys the strong sense of community in Boyle Heights. “I love living in the same neighborhood...
New county budget leaves room for supporting immigrant communities but advocate groups say fight isn’t over
Dozens of immigration advocates cheered at the steps of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors headquarters early on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 3. Attendees waved flags and held signs reading “A JUST COUNTY BUDGET FOR ALL,” “YES ON MEHKO,” and “SUPPORT HOME COOKING”.
Years of putrid odors, scores of complaints: the fight over a facility that recycles dead animals In Southeast LA
Tucked along Bandini Boulevard in the city of Vernon are the headquarters for Baker Commodities Inc., a company that employs 900 workers across the U.S. and is home base for some of the grisliest industrial work in the country. Behind the nondescript walls of its campus along the L.A. River...
Writing about the Black legacy of Boyle Heights became a history lesson for Kimba Henderson
When Kimba Henderson was asked to write a play about the Black history of Boyle Heights, she had no idea such a thing existed. “I was like, ‘You had me at Black Boyle Heights.” Henderson said. “Those three words together – I don’t know what it is, but I’m in it.”
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Boyle Heights Beat offers a unique brand of community journalism, built around neighborhood meetings that youth reporters lead each quarter to solicit ideas and hear concerns.
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