Jessica Koslow

The month of October has become synonymous with breast cancer awareness. Yet Westside Family Health Center remains focused year-round on educating and servicing its patients about the second most common cancer in American women.

Last year WFHC celebrated its 50th anniversary. The Federally Qualified Health Center offers services to 13,000-plus patients spread throughout 170 zip codes in Los Angeles.

“The service that we provide is a screening mammogram,” said Felicia Osborn, Medical Director of Reproductive Health and Prenatal Programs. “Some are coming for the first time when they turn 40, and others are continuing their health maintenance. They have had mammograms in the past and either had abnormal ones and are returning for a screening mammogram or they’re continuing their screening mammograms for prevention purposes to detect cancer.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Coach Lisa Thomas launched the Pasadena-based Move Your Feet Tennis Foundation (MYFTF) seven years ago, because as a young woman growing up in Chicago, she had been impacted by a similar organization, in which tennis players taught kids in the community how to play. 

“That was such a substantial time in my life,” Thomas said. “I feel like I wouldn’t have been the person that I became without that start. My intention is always to give back and to give the opportunity that I had to as many kids as I can.”

Thomas played both tennis and basketball in high school and college, at which time she was drafted by the first professional basketball league in the United States, the Women’s Professional Basketball League, where she played from 1979 to 1982. In 2018, she was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame — the same year she started Move Your Feet. . . .

Read the entire article at Pasadena Weekly.

It’s Sunday just after noon, and the students and staff of Sholem, a secular community and school, have gathered together to sing the lyrics to “This Land is Your Land” by Woody Guthrie and “Bim Bam” by Nachum Frankel. Most Sundays, at the end of class, Rebekka Helford, Sholem’s vice principal, teacher of the youngest class starting in pre-K, and mother of two Sholem students, accompanies a group sing-along on her acoustic guitar.

“This is a bonding, family activity,” Rebekka said after the students had left for the day. “It is a commitment to belonging. As a society we are so fragmented, lonely and isolated, and that is not our birthright. As humans, we are used to living in groups, which helps us to be well and at ease. People schlep here to be surrounded by faces who they can bond with and make a community with. It is a place to belong, where you can be of value and be valued and connect to your family in a deeper way.” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Local musicians are playing familiar tunes. The food and drinks are flowing for the hundreds of community members in attendance. Dozens of neighborhood businesses have donated to the silent auction. Each year for the past 22 years, Venice Community Housing (VCH) has hosted a champagne brunch with live jazz to raise money for its mission: To develop comprehensive solutions to rising rates of homelessness and an increasing need for affordable housing for low-income individuals and families.

VCH is on a roll, according to Linda Lucks, the Community Engagement and Special Events Coordinator. The Corporation recently broke ground on a 78-unit project on 20^th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, and 2024 saw the opening of three projects: Marian Place, which houses formerly unhoused families; The Journey Apartments in Venice, which provides permanent supportive homes for transition aged youth (18-25) and other formerly unhoused people; and Aviation Apartments in the Del Aire neighborhood. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

The city of Buellton has experienced two time periods: B.S. and A.S., referencing the 2004 Oscar-winning film “Sideways” about a road trip to the Santa Barbara wine country. Buellton and its neighbor, Solvang, were featured prominently in the film, and because of the exposure, tourism to the area skyrocketed. Unfortunately, one of its claims to fame, Pea Soup Andersen’s, which had been a major draw since 1924, closed in 2024 just before its 100th anniversary. Fortunately, Buellton has so much more to offer, including wineries, breweries, new eateries, horseback riding, a botanic garden, a petting emu and ostrich farm, a zipline experience and an adventure park course. . . .

Read the entire article at Playa Vista Magazine.