Jessica Koslow

When Victoria Mehrnia and her husband moved to Playa Vista two years ago, one of the first things she noticed was that she had not seen any merchandise with the community’s name on it. Malibu and Marina del Rey had merchandise, so why not Playa Vista?

“I thought it could be a cool opportunity,” Mehrnia said, “and so I have been making hats myself just in our house. I played around with a couple of different ideas and came up with the name, Playa Vista Beach Club.”

The hat company is Mehrnia’s passion project, which she launched about four months ago. While she was browsing the Wednesday night summer market and year-round Saturday farmers market, she saw space for Playa Vista-branded merch. Most of her customers so far have been residents who discover her via Instagram. She meets them at The Resort, which is a community center, for the handoff. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

When the fires erupted in Altadena on Jan. 7, the flames destroyed many businesses. But the ashes could not erase the memories or hopes to rebuild.

On that day, Two Dragons Martial Arts burned to the ground, and in an instant, Sipoo Shelene Hearring lost the business she had run for 30 years. When the dust settled, Hearring wasn’t sure she could buy the land at 2490 Lake Avenue on the corner of Mariposa. With the community’s support, she launched a GoFundMe campaign and waited with bated breath as other offers came in to develop the land.

“What goes here will dictate how that part of the community will move forward,” wrote Brooke Iva Lohman in an email explaining the desperate situation of this local business on a quest to rebuild in the same location. “It poses the risk of altering the character and vibe of Altadena as a whole.” . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

It’s not easy to guess what Los Angeles Poverty Department (LAPD) does. Those who know, know. For everyone else, it is the first arts organization in Skid Row, founded 40 years ago by performance artist, director and activist John Malpede, who continues to direct, perform and engineer arts projects.

According to its website, LAPD was the first performance group in the nation made up principally of homeless people and the first arts program of any kind for homeless people in LA. Today, it is best known for its Festival for All Skid Row Artists, which celebrated its 16th year this past October at Gladys/General Jeff Park, and Walk the Talk, a biennial parade-performance led by a New Orleans-style brass band scheduled for May 2026.

Like other organizations around the country, LAPD is facing a shortfall of funds due to federal cuts and changed priorities by previously reliable sources. Malpede and his team are especially concerned because it happened so abruptly. . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so when Dr. Carmen Dones, Dean of Academic Affairs at West Los Angeles College, was meeting with the 19 community colleges that make up the Los Angeles Regional Consortium to learn about the needs of the healthcare industry, it became clear that the answer was more licensed vocational nurses (LVN).

The meeting consisted of industry leaders, hospital and medical professionals, and organizations such as Kaiser Permanente. Its agenda corresponded to the mission of the Los Angeles Regional Consortium: To connect college and career readiness and, as its website states, to bridge the gap between workforce preparedness and the employers fueling LA’s cutting-edge economy.

What resulted from the meeting was a new Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) Certificate Program, which is approved by the CA Board of Vocational Nursing and Psychiatric Technicians (BVNPT) and prepares students for entry into the vital and growing field of vocational nursing. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Before the Eaton Fire in January 2025, there was considerably more naturally occurring affordable housing in Altadena.

Post-fire, according to the Altadena Builds Back Foundation (ABBF), the community faces a deep shortage of rental housing, with many renters still unable to find affordable replacement housing. A recent survey from the Eaton Fire Collaborative shared that 72% of surveyed renters are still in need of housing, and 68% experienced a total loss of their home. 

Last month, ABBF announced its largest grant to date — and the largest given through ABBF’s umbrella organization, Pasadena Community Foundation — which will support the rebuild of 14 units of affordable housing for very low-income renters in Altadena, prioritizing displaced fire survivors. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

Syd Stewart does not consider the work she does a job. It is a purpose, a calling. In her own words, “There’s nothing like being a hope broker and a blessing distributor.” 

As the founder and CEO of Better Youth, Inc., Stewart is celebrating the organization’s more than 15 years of service in Los Angeles as a social impact nonprofit that builds creative confidence, closes resource gaps and prepares foster and system-impacted youth ages 17 to 24 for sustained personal growth and professional success in the creative economy.

An extension of Better Youth’s social support services for Transitional Age Youth (TAY) is housing, which is why members of the organization are standing at 280 North Oakland Avenue in Pasadena on Saturday, Nov. 22, alongside its partner organization, Community Builders Group (CBG), and 21-year-old Ayanna Lockett, who will be receiving the keys to her own micro unit courtesy of their new collaborative housing initiative, Opening Doors. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.