los angeles cityscape with dodger stadium at sunset

SHOHEI OHTANI AND L.A. CITY COUNCIL ARE BESTIES NOW? – LOS CUENTOS WRAP-UP

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You can also catch this WRAP-UP on YouTube. On Friday, May 17, the L.A. City Council presented a number of local celebrities with some proclamations. May 17th was declared “Shohei Ohtani day,” while May 19th is now “Father Greg Boyle” day, at least on the official calendar of the L.A. City Council chambers. Afterwards, a number of different speakers made Public Comment, many in opposition to an eviction notice filed against the Hernandez family at Plazita Olvera, who’s owned the landmark destination’s only burro or donkey for over 60 years.

Plazita Olvera is located less than half a mile north of L.A. City Hall, but half a mile south of L.A. City Hall is Suehiro cafe, or the former location of Suehiro Cafe, which had been in operation in Little Tokyo for over 50 years before closing this January not because of an eviction notice, but because of a massive rent hike imposed by the landlord; two months later, a brand-new mural of Ohsei Ohtani was revealed across the street from Suehiro’s former location in Little Tokyo. It was a special day on 1st street, full of vibes, not so different from those at this L.A. City Council meeting.

While institutions like L.A. City Council have the power to declare and even decorate for symbolic purposes like Ohtani or Father Boyle day, they do not have the power to prevent eviction notices like the one given to the Hernandez family and their burro at Plazita Olvera, nor the power to prevent rent hikes for legacy businesses like Kenji Suzuki’s Suehiro Cafe in Little Tokyo. The question for Ohtani in particular then is if his legacy will go the way of Fernando Valenzuela, another “once-in-a-generation” talent who the Dodgers would nonetheless isolate from local working class communities outside of the jersey and uniform.

That’s all for the introductory wrap-up! To learn more about my nonprofit work in Los Angeles, visit onevecindario.org. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at Patreon.

Until the next time, stay vigilant and stay tuned!

J.T.

A DAY WITHOUT AN IMMIGRANT IN LOS ANGELES (’06 EDITION)

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In this update for J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast we reflect on our two year Anniversary Party for the Making a Neighborhood newsletter at local Bellevue Park, which included a dazzling Healing Circle by Koreatown and Pico-Union’s very own Monica Garcia, MFT. To subscribe to Making a Neighborhood for free, please do so here.

Also, did you know that Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing (2021), the magazine, is once again available for purchase? Grab your copy today, which supports only more storytelling and documenting for our communities, here.

Last but certainly not least, in a debut “segment” tidbit for the podcast, I take a look back at the largest marches in L.A. history, which took place during March and May 2006 in fierce opposition to House Resolution 4437. It was quite the time to be a teenager, and now looking back at the political landscape of the time invokes memories of a distant yet still too-familiar past still reverberating today. Audio for this segment is also provided by the Korean Resource Center (KRC); to see and hear the entire compilation of news coverage of May Day 2006, do so via KRC’s YouTube channel.

(0:31) Hey, what’s going on Los Angeles? It’s J.T. and I hope that you are very well; today is March 29th, 2024 and almost time to pay that rent again
(1:34) First up, some housekeeping, including for Making a Neighborhood’s 2 Year Anniversary Party!
(2:29) Shout out to all who attended, especially Monica Garcia, MFT, who led us in a special Healing Circle
(3:30) Also, did you know that Redlining, Gentrification and Housing is available for purchase again?
(4:51) A brief set of takeaways from March’s Primary Elections; we spoke with some winners!
(7:33) Speaking of March, let’s take a glance back at March 2006 in L.A., actually
(11:31) Even if you weren’t there, you have to know that this took place
(13:40) These were some of the largest marches in U.S. history, probably in the top 5
(15:53) Let’s tune into some media reports of the marches at the time to place them into even more perspective…
(17:11) These kinds of marches are for everyone, including for today’s generation of organizers!
(18:21) Now, are you ready to go back in time??
(18:36) “Illegal immigrants and their supporters, the big question,” MSNBC
(19:32) “70% of the people watching say that illegal immigrants should be arrested at these rallies”
(22:29) Downtown Los Angeles, across the street from City Hall
(23:11) L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa did not plan to attend any of the demonstrations
(24:07) Business owners closed their doors in solidarity and also out of caution
(25:23) Many of L.A.’s construction workers are undocumented as well
(27:22) A Day Without an Immigrant
(27:53) “It wasn’t supposed to be this way after amnesty in 1986”
(29:08) The L.A. and Long Beach ports’ dependence on immigrants; “if all undocumented workers disappeared, the economy would grind to a halt”
(32:37) May Day protests, including students and more
(35:03) Farmworkers in solidarity with workers in the cities
(39:01) Christine Chavez, the granddaughter of labor leader Cesar Chavez, calls the immigration system “broken”
(43:47) L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on the demonstrations
(45:10) Despite concerns, the marches were pretty much entirely peaceful
(49:07) On the question of amnesty and/or other immigration reform
(51:50) In any case, republicans across the nation should recognize the contributions of immigrants to cities like Los Angeles and take note
(53:04) Countless protesters across the streets of L.A., and also home from school and work in solidarity

To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in Los Angeles, please do so here. To support the production of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast for as little as $5 a month, check out my page at patreon.com/jimbotimes.

J.T.

adult alone boy building

It’s official. The number of homeless people in the U.S. has hit a record high of 653,000 on any single night

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The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress was published this past December 15th; key findings of the 117-page document include that:

“On a single night in 2023, roughly 653,100 people – or about 20 of every 10,000 people in the United States – were experiencing homelessness. Six in ten people were experiencing sheltered homelessness—that is, in an emergency shelter (ES), transitional housing (TH), or safe haven (SH) program—while the remaining four in ten were experiencing unsheltered homelessness in places not meant for human habitation.

Experiences of homelessness increased nationwide across all household types. Between 2022 and 2023, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased by 12 percent, or roughly 70,650 more people.

The 2023 Point-in-Time (PIT) count is the highest number of people reported as experiencing homelessness on a single night since reporting began in 2007. The overall increase reflects the increases in all homeless populations. Homelessness among persons in families with children experiencing homelessness rose by 16 percent. Similarly, the rise in individuals experiencing homelessness was 11 percent.”

It’s also important to note that point-in-time (PIT) estimates are widely considered to be undercounts–possibly by up to half–including since PIT counts are usually coordinated in the Winter morning, when many folks living on the street are out seeking some sort of refuge. Additionally, a 2019 article from Bloomberg pointed out a discrepancy between the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s number of unsheltered Americans versus that of the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES); in 2015, HUD identified just under 565,000 people without shelter, but the NCES counted up to 1.3 million homeless children attending public schools that year.

While virtually every state, including Alaska and Hawaii count homeless people within their boundaries, since 2007, when point-in-time counting of unsheltered folks began, the five states with the largest growth in homelessness have been “blue” or democratic; however, it’s also key to consider that blue states have historically been far denser than “red” or Republican-led states.

On the other hand, the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans are also breaking records. According to Americans For Tax Fairness, a lobbying association, as of November 2023, the collective wealth of 741 billionaires in the U.S amounted to $5.1 trillion. The organization also notes that:

“[U.S. Billionaires’ wealth] is up an astounding $2.3 trillion (78%) since enactment of the Trump-GOP tax law in 2017—a fiscally irresponsible measure heavily slanted towards the rich that undoubtedly contributed to billionaires’ wealth growth over the last six years.”

To be certain, though, of 332 million people in the U.S., 741 billionaires represent just about 000002%, or two hundred-thousandths of the overall population.

J.T.

exterior entrance of residential building

In Case You Missed It: Making Our Neighborhood, the Magazine, is back!

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In January of this year, City National Bank (CNB) was fined $31 million by the U.S. Justice Department, which successfully argued that from 2017 to at least 2020, CNB consistently denied Black and immigrant applicants in Los Angeles County for home loans at a significantly higher rate than white applicants. Additionally, according to the Department’s briefing:

“City National only opened one branch in a majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhood in the past twenty years, despite having opened or acquired 11 branches during that time period. And unlike at its branches in majority-white areas, City National did not assign any employee to generate mortgage loan applications at that branch.”

The event underscores how important it is for communities to assess the enduring legacy of redlining in our cities so that more people like those Black and Latino applicants can account for their part of those $31 million. To this end, it’s my pleasure to announce the return of Making Our Neighborhood, by Samanta Helou-Hernandez and J.T. the L.A. Storyteller.

In March 2021, we published Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing in East Hollywood, making nearly 300 copies available for order online and selling out in a little over two months. Today, we’re thrilled to announce at least 50 new copies of this labor of love. Like before, copies of Making Our Neighborhood will be available on a first-come, first serve basis through jimbotimes.com.

Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing in East Hollywood (2021).

Why bring back the magazine now?

Since the magazine is not handled or owned by a major publication company, copies of it are not easy to come by, so over the last two and a half years we’ve had to gently turn away folks interested in purchasing a copy. This second run is for those folks, as well as for others who’d like to take a peek into the rich stories that make our neighborhood.

Our surprise second-run is owed to the generosity of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation, which recently held the first official exhibit honoring the stories of the Albright-Marshall family and their Japanese American neighbors in the J-Flats neighborhood adjacent to Virgil Village. The magazine will be available at the same price it was during our first run at $35.

Whose stories are featured in the magazine?

The magazine features original reporting by both of us, including articles on some of our first encounters with gentrification along Virgil avenue, as well as with terms such as “redlining.” It also features photography from This Side of Hoover and Jimbo Times, and a 4,000 word essay from J.T. on future efforts for housing in East Hollywood.

What is gentrification? And is it still affecting neighborhoods today?

According to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC): “The term ‘gentrification’ was first coined in the 1960s by British sociologist Ruth Glass (1964) to describe the displacement of the working-class residents of London neighborhoods by middle-class newcomers. From its inception, gentrification has been understood as a form of neighborhood change, resulting in the displacement of incumbent residents of one social class and culture by another more affluent class, linked with an increase in property values.

Today, neighborhoods across L.A. continue facing gentrification as extremely low-income–and much less–public housing remains out of reach for the vast majority of residents, thus leading mostly to new, market-rate housing, especially in formerly redlined areas, that is entirely unaffordable for working-class people and thus ultimately another instrument in pushing them outwards.

Protestors with the L.A. Tenants Union march against gentrification and rent hikes in the Pico-Union district.

Who is the publisher behind Making Our Neighborhood?

Our magazine is independently published by Samanta Helou-Hernandez and Jimmy Recinos, also known as J.T. the L.A. Storyteller. All funds go towards supporting our ongoing work as journalists. 

J.T.