beachside during daytime

From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide

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“Booking Holdings Inc. and Airbnb, Inc. list properties and hotel rooms in Israeli colonies. Booking.com has more than doubled its listings in the West Bank–from 26 in 2018 to 70 by May 2023–and tripled its East Jerusalem listings to 39 in the year post-October 2023. Airbnb has also amplified its colonial profiteering, growing from 13 listings in 2016 to 350 in 2025, collecting up to 23 per cent commission. These listings are linked with restricting Palestinian access to land and endangering nearby villages. In Tekoa, Airbnb enables settler promotion of a ‘warm and loving community’, whitewashing settler violence against the neighbouring Palestinian village of Tuqu’.”


J.T.

FROM K-TOWN TO SAN SALVADOR

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In the first full episode for J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast this 2024, which is also doubling as an episode for K-Town Is OK, we sit down with filmmaker and journalist Vladimir Santos—who also forms one half of Ey Foo You a Rocker?—as well as Indigenous Arts and Healing Practitioner, the one and only Monica Garcia.

Plus, the latest from via Making a Neighborhood on LAUSD elections this March. Then, yours truly returns to El Salvador for just the second time in almost six years. More on Los Cuentos en El Salvador soon.

(0:31) Can you hear yourself? I can
(2:53) Meet Vladimir De Jesus Santos, Straight Outta K-Town
(6:35) Meet Monica Garcia, Marriage and Family Therapist, and a Mayan
(11:06) Speaking of culture, did anyone make tamales this holiday season?
(13:42) Making tamales isn’t all that easy, actually
(15:23) Vlad makes our discussion on tamales more controversial
(18:13) Jimmy maintains the peace
(20:03) Get us more food trucks, less gentrification please
(24:10) Give K-Town back to the people, like Maqueos music!
(26:26) Real families have been displaced by gentrification in K-Town, including Vlad
(31:20) How racial violence against communities of color continues being unaccounted for due to gentrification
(35:42) In a world of individuals, what happens to the community?
(39:14) This is America, a place that works extremely well, if you’re rich
(42:23) This dialogue matters too, though
(43:57) Shout out to my noona as well, Helen H. Kim!
(44:40) How to keep up with Vlad and Monica in the days ahead
(45:05) Monica is doing healing practices and workshops
(48:19) Vlad is working on those 🎥🎥🎥, obviously
(50:27) His work is also at the Academy Museum though!
(53:30) Yours truly has a flight to catch soon, to San Salvador!

To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for Los Cuentos in El Salvador, please do so through my GoFundMe. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, check out my PATREON.

J.T.

RAISING OVER $150,000 WITHOUT PAC MONEY IN L.A.

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Thanks to matching funds! Los Angeles, meet Ysabel Jurado for Council District 14.

(02:15) What is Council-District 14? Which neighborhoods does it include?
(03:42) Ysabel is another Highland Park native and graduate of Immaculate Heart High School
(05:38) Sharing the Highland Park area with Council-District 1, which takes the side south of York Blvd
(06:49) The reason Ysabel decided to run for this seat was to fight for her community (back in August 2022)
(09:33) What Ysabel’s hearing from community members about city politics
(11:39) Ysabel’s experience as a Tenants’ Rights Attorney fighting evictions during lock-down due to COVID-19
(13:06) On Social Housing in Los Angeles as a part of fighting the housing crisis
(14:52) Support the Eastside Cafe, which is fundraising to purchase more land back for El Sereno community
(17:20) Council-District 14 has the highest number of eviction filings out of all the districts; we need to enhance renter protections
(22:41) According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, since the median rent for a two-bedroom apartment in California is $2,197, the median or minimum wage should be $42 an hour
(25:21) Ysabel has raised more than $150,000 for her campaign without PAC or corporate money
(26:18) What would Ysabel do with millions of surplus money in CD-14? Also, my humble Patreon plug!
(29:12) Protecting small, legacy businesses, including in Boyle Heights
(30:01) Dealing with resentment and frustration from community members re: resources for unsheltered folks
(34:58) L.A.’s Planning and Land Use Management committee accepted an appeal in Boyle Heights over Tiao Development’s proposed destruction of legacy businesses on Cesar Chavez Ave. to build market-rate housing
(39:14) Dealing with jadedness on housing and the idea that working-class communities cannot win against developers
(41:16) How Ysabel would serve on L.A.’s Planning and Land Use Committee
(43:04) Ysabel’s roots as a Filipina-American and how they inform her sense of land and stewardship rather than ownership
(45:27) Explaining how Tiny Homes are actually NOT housing
(50:40) How Ysabel will not allow for her identity as an Asian-American to be used as a “racial wedge” between her and Latinx communities
(52:28) At just over 50 days before mail-in ballots reach voters, what’s Ysabel up to?
(54:22) Follow Ysabel Jurado’s Campaign for Council District 14 on Instagram at @ysabeljuradola.

To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please check out my PATREON.

J.T.

Aerial shot of Los Angeles City Hall

IT’S MONEY OR PEOPLE POWERED: THE CHOICE IS YOURS

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In this special edition episode with Council Member Hernandez of L.A. City Council’s 1st District, we discuss upcoming rent raises in 2024 and their impact on housing insecurity in L.A.; we also discuss voting against the police budget earlier this year, new funding sources for the L.A. Ethics Commission, the race for new leadership in Council District 14, and more:

(2:53) Rent hike this February 2024
(5:07) The rent hike’s effect on Council District 1
(7:35) A message to the housing movement about the politics behind this decision by L.A. City Council
(9:50) Voting against the police budget for 2023 – 2024
(13:13) Purchasing the Mayfair hotel in Westlake/MacArthur Park area to house folks from Skid Row
(17:02) Hosting Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program as an alternative response to people experiencing crises in Los Angeles
(19:51) The Crisis and Incident through Community-Led Engagement (CIRCLE) program in Los Angeles
(21:59) What if LAPD budget increases went to more human responses to mental health crises?
(24:19) Turning the old Lincoln Heights jail into a new community resource
(26:48) Measure J’s progress in L.A. County since being approved by 2.1 million voters in 2020
(29:37) Independent funding for the L.A. City Council Ethics Commission
(31:39) Expanding L.A. City Council as soon as 2026, potentially
(34:50) Reconnecting MacArthur Park without displacing people in the area
(39:23) Partnership on the project with L.A. Metro
(40:41) Endorsing Ysabel Jurado in Council District 14 and dual-endorsing reverend Eddie Anderson and Council Member Hutt in CD-10
(43:22) CD-14 has the highest number of evictions and has millions in discretionary funds
(45:08) Joining a short list of elected officials in L.A. and California calling for a ceasefire in Gaza

To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please check out my PATREON.

J.T.

SAY HELLO TO THE NEW L.A. PUBLIC PRESS

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Mariah Castañeda is the co-founder of Los Angeles Public Press, “an independent, non-profit newsroom advocating for a better Los Angeles.” In this chat, we discuss her upbringing through Adelanto, California and Huntington Park, as well as her hosting work for one of the bests podcasts in recent memory for L.A., The Sellout. Mariah also tells us about key goals for the L.A. Public Press as a fledgling news organization in L.A. County, and even shouts out the brand-new Smogland Radio podcast!

To make a one-time donation to my fundraiser for the 9th anniversary of JIMBO TIMES, please do so through jmbtms.com. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, please see my new page at PATREON.

J.T.