Let The City Know.
The Barcelona Barrios Excursion is fast-approaching, and the best way to stay tuned in is with a membership through patreon.com/jimbotimes, which helps support expenses for the journey. Also note that this Thursday, April 6th, we join forces with Michelle Rivera, of UCLA’s Masters in Urban Planning program (MURP). Michelle and I will be discussing not only her Masters program, but also her own upcoming trip to Paris, France this fall. Join us for the chat via IG Live!
For Los Cuentos,
J.T.
In our 86th episode, we connect with Bryant Odega (@BryantOdegaLA), a born and raised resident of the Harbor Gateway neighborhood of L.A.’s south side who is now running for council district 15, which includes the neighborhoods of San Pedro, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway, Wilmington, and Watts. Bryant and I discuss his upbringing as the child of a single-parent household, his study of the labor movement at UCLA, and his transformative experience as a part of the Sunrise Movement. Bryant also discusses disparities in quality of life rates for the areas of Watts and Wilmington and particular, including food apartheid in the former, and more than 2,700 oil and gas wells in the latter. Finally, Bryant shouts out legacy organizations such as the Watts Initiative, which continue to uplift the neighborhood despite ongoing disinvestment by the city of Los Angeles.
J.T.
In our 85th episode, we connect on a call with Jimmy Biblarz (@jimmybiblarz), a queer life-long resident and sociologist from the Pico-Robertson area, or “Synagogue Row,” who is also running to represent Council District 5 this year. We discuss Jimmy’s struggle with being evicted from his home in his adolescent years, as well as ways that L.A. city government can better engage communities here, including by enfranchising “non-citizen” or “undocumented” residents, or permitting these groups to vote in local elections. We also discuss the Purple Line’s extension to UCLA, and why this should not mean adding more police to Metro to ensure student and commuter safety. Jimmy also notes the inspection of oil drills in Council District 5, repealing counterproductive ordinances for unhoused residents, and more.
J.T.
In our 83rd episode, we sit down for a chat with Scott Epstein (@scottforla), a former chair of the Mid-City West Neighborhood Council and current candidate for Council District 5, which is home to–among other L.A. landmarks–the L.A. County Museum of Arts, UCLA, the Pico-Robertson area, and more of what makes up the “west-side” of Los Angeles. Scott and I discuss the growing number of unhoused residents in CD-5, including unhoused UCLA students, as well as his take on Mitch O’Farrell’s militaristic response to the unhoused crisis in Echo Park. Scott and I also consider the major discretionary powers of L.A. City Council members, and how Los Angeles is–with a few key exceptions–more of a City Council “town” and not that of a mayor’s. To learn more about Scott, find his campaign page at scottforla.com.
J.T.
This free presentation and discussion, held by Public Counsel and the UCLA School of Law Economic Development Clinic, is set for August 11th, 2021 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. You can register for the event HERE.
“Despite the landmark effort to legalize sidewalk vending in California, little-known and poorly designed food laws still make it functionally illegal for most vendors to sell food. While non-food merchandise vendors now have a relatively clear path to legal vending, most sidewalk food vendors are still denied access to the formal economy by a potent combination of inaccessible permitting procedures, exorbitant costs, incompatible equipment and design standards, and punitive enforcement measures.”
“During the report launch we will hear from the authors of the report, advocates, and street vendors who are fighting for their right to work without harassment and criminalization.”
J.T.