modern operating room with medical staff in action

L.A. County, here are the official measures proposed on our ballot this June 2026

According to L.A. County’s Measure 1, it might be time to dig deep into our wallets for another tax to stave off insolvency for some of our most critical public services and facilities.

There are also 25 more propositions on the table, the lot of them having to do with new sales taxes, which is and isn’t surprising given L.A. County’s umbrella status for 87 different cities other than Los Angeles itself.

The voters will decide. But as the old saying goes, “to be forewarned is to be forearmed.”

Source: Current and Upcoming Elections, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk

J.T.

hollywood sign

Los Angeles, let’s extend the K Line north to the Hollywood Bowl!

Today at 10:00 AM PST the L.A. County Board votes on whether or not to approve an extension of the K Line north from Crenshaw/Exposition Boulevard, on through MidCity and West Hollywood, and in to Hollywood. You can attend the meeting either in person, via video, or via phone!

“Live public comment can be given by telephone or in-person. The Meeting begins at 10:00 AM Pacific Time on March 26, 2026; you may join the call 5 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.

Dial-in: 888-978-8818 and enter English Access Code: 5647249# [OR ]Spanish Access Code: 7292892#[.]

Public comment will be taken as the Board takes up each item. To give public comment on an item, enter #2 (pound-two) when prompted. Please note that the live video feed lags about 30 seconds behind the actual meeting. There is no lag on the public comment dial-in line.”

J.T.

sixth street bridge in los angeles california

DESIGNING FOR THE REALITIES WITH ERIC SOLIS

The return of J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast features Eric Solis, an L.A. born architect and designer now living and consulting in Mexico City, where the rise of a new, international gentrification has pushed residents like himself to fight back and organize. Solis’s roots in Los Angeles also run deep, however, especially given his time with HNTB Corporation in collaboration with Michael Maltzan Architecture, or the firm behind the already world-famous 6th Street Bridge, which officially reopened in June 2022. Solis and I discuss his upbringing through Greater Los Angeles, as well as his unique position as a first-generation college graduate (USC, 2010) on a team of seasoned, mostly white architects who had little to no lived experience with Mexican-American communities like those of East Los Angeles. We also discuss the strengths and shortcomings of the 6th Street Bridge, as well as what Designing For The Realities has looked like for Solis most recently. Last but not least, we uplift “No Hablamos Ingles,” a fashion show consisting of some of Mexico’s fiercest fashion leaders taking place right in Los Angeles this September 21st, free and open to all of the Pueblito.

(0:52) Introductions
(6:15) Solis’s time on the 6th Street Bridge fresh out of USC, Class of 2010
(11:15) Looking around the room as the only Latino person at the firm
(20:32) Issues posed by the new 6th Street Bridge due in large part to design
(26:45) Solis’s thoughts on designing for reality rather than for idealism in L.A. + discovering fashion!
(33:08) “No Hablamos Inglés,” September 21st in downtown Los Angeles
(35:48) Fighting gentrification in Mexico City and everywhere else we can

To make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City, 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.

Until the next time, stay vigilant and stay tuned!

J.T.

L.A. MARCH 2024 PRIMARIES: RECAP

It’s official! There are now just 136 days before it’s “high-key” time for elections again. This is because in California ballots for the election are sent to voters some 29 days before Election Day. So then, even if Election Day is on November 5th, many of us will have the opportunity to vote on L.A. City, LAUSD, L.A. County, and even California elections as soon as October 7th, or 136 days out. In this installment we go over certified L.A. City elections to see who won, who lost out, and what you can expect this Fall if you live and vote in Los Angeles. You can also see the graphics used in this recap here. And you can watch this podcast on YouTube. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast on YouTube so you don’t miss our recap for LAUSD and L.A. County elections.

(1:48) Council District 2: Adrian Nazarian vs Jillian Burgos
(6:06) Council District 4: Nithya Raman
(11:36) Council District 6: Imelda Padilla
(14:56) Council District 8: Marqueece Harris-Dawson
(19:54) Council District 10: Heather Hutt vs Grace Yoo (K-Town Is Oaxacan Korean)
(24:16) Council District 12: John Lee
(29:25) Council District 14: Ysabel Jurado vs Kevin De Leon
(38:20) Patreon Shout Out!

And remember, if you’re able to, you can make a one-time donation to my nonprofit work for working-class communities in The City here.

You can also check out my Patreon page at https://patreon.com/jimbotimes; each subscription plays a real part in supporting my independent research and journalism for the nearly 10 million people who make up L.A. County. Because yes, I am in fact doing it for every last one of you!

With that said, let the city know. This is 2024’s official Primary Election RECAP by JIMBO TIMES, the L.A. Storyteller.

J.T.

THE DODGERS: COLLEAGUES, OR COLONIZERS?

Today the Los Angeles Dodgers are worth $5.4 billion. But for the land they took to play ball, Vincent “Chente” Montalvo’s family received what his grandfather John De Nava called peanuts. His grandmother, Adela De Nava–now 91 years old(!)–also continues to stand by this claim. It’s not just about the money, though. Earlier this year, California Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo introduced AB 1950, or the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, which would order the city of Los Angeles to atone for its part in evicting nearly 1,400 Mexican-American families in the Bishop, La Loma, and Palo Verde communities to place Dodger stadium on top. Vincent and yours truly discuss AB 1950, as well as the meaning of “reparations” in the current political environment. To follow Vincent and his work at Buried Under the Blue, do so here. You can also watch this episode on YouTube.

(1:01) Welcome Vincent “Chente Montalvo” to J.T. the L.A. Storyteller Podcast, also known as Los Cuentos De Los Ángeles
(3:43) Vincent is a founding member of Buried Under the Blue, which seeks to hold the city of Los Angeles and the Dodgers responsible for evicting his grandparents and thousands more in “Chavez Ravine”
(6:35) Vincent acknowledges the Kizh nation as the aboriginal people in Los Angeles and discerns between claims of land back for his family and land back for First Peoples
(11:38) Approximately how many people were in Bishop, La Loma, and Palo Verde, called “Chavez Ravine”?
(22:29) Vincent himself grew up in Echo Park, and also went to nearby Belmont High School, for the record
(30:34) The communities of Bishop, La Loma and Palo Verde were self-reliant and even organized their own Little League
(35:25) Private property was the fulfillment of the American Dream for Vincent’s family, until a constitutional amendment robbed them of it for the sake of the Dodgers
(40:24) Assembly Bill 1950 by Wendy Carrillo, also known as the Chavez Ravine Accountability Act, was introduced in the California legislature’s Judiciary Committee just this past March 2024
(42:13) Why Buried Under the Blue is not on board with AB 1950 in its current form
(47:51) Vincent and his family are not simply seeking financial compensation but an official apology from the Dodgers
(50:54) Due to his work Vincent has heard increasingly from Dodger fans who connect with his story
(55:55) AB 1950 in its current form does not identify the Dodgers for their instrumental role in the eviction of Vincent’s grandparents and their more than 1,000 neighbors
(59:26) How to support Vincent and his work with Buried Under the Blue

Speaking of standing atop a piece of history, please also check out Areli Morales Lopez’s latest for Making a Neighborhood, “The Last Laundromat by Venice Beach,” here. And remember that Making Our Neighborhood: Redlining, Gentrification and Housing (2021), the magazine, is once again available for purchase. Grab your copy for you and your neighborhood, here.

Last but certainly not least, 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.

P.S. I will for sure have a March Primary Elections recap before our next podcast episode on May 24th. You can quote me on that!