Jessica Koslow

Although she has been working in jazz radio for 50 years, Rhonda Hamilton was still surprised to receive a call from the National Endowment for the Arts informing her that she was the recipient of the 2026 A.B. Spellman NEA Jazz Master Award for Jazz Advocacy.

“That came as a big surprise,” Hamilton, who joined KJAZZ 88.1 in October 2021, shared. “I never expected that at all. When you’re working every day, you just do it. I’m not thinking about the impact that this has had. I started when I was in college in 1975. So here we are: This is 50 years, and when I think about that, my goodness, it’s a long time.”

When she first got the message to call somebody from the NEA, she thought, “That’s interesting, maybe they’re asking me to recommend somebody?” . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

Like millions of people around the world, Nicole Blaine, owner of The Crow comedy club, has an affinity for the 2006 bestseller “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. Before she had even heard of it, its magic was working for her in mysterious ways.

“I have had the honor and the privilege of getting to witness miracles,” she said. 

One of the first ones was a chance meeting with her now-husband, Mickey, who was her then-high school crush. When Blaine saw Mickey playing the role of Kenickie in Santa Monica High School’s production of “Grease,” she fell hard. Thinking he was out of her league, Blaine dated his best friend instead. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.

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.

Steve Croteau is not from around here. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, and landed in Downtown LA, home of the Fashion District, via San Diego. His journey to fashion entrepreneur is as winding and adventurous as the landscape he’s been riding for decades as a BMX biker.

The founder of the streetwear brand PeepGame LTD started BMX riding as a kid. At a local skate park, he saw and got to meet world-class rider Dave Mirra.

“I was like, this is so cool that this guy is on TV and he’s actually hanging out with the kids,” Croteau said. “It made me fall in love with BMX immediately. It was completely different from regular sports. You wouldn’t be able to hang out with a New York Mets pitcher.” . . .

Read the entire article at LA Downtown News.

Ruth Kennison is a chocolate educator. Some people pick history or science. Kennison has made the choice to educate the world about chocolate: how it is made, where it comes from and who picks the beans. 

“My mission is to connect people to the flavor and the story of chocolate,” states her website, The Chocolate Project.

In her late 30s, Kennison, who was pregnant, started baking — a lot. She loved sugar and sweets and followed her nose to the French Pastry School and the Callebaut Chocolate Academy in Chicago, where she received her certification as a pastry chef. She joined her friend, Clemence de Lutz, and began teaching baking classes at Surfas in Culver City, when Lutz shared with Kennison that she planned to open a cooking school. Lutz suggested that her friend become an expert in one thing. . . .

Read the entire article at The Argonaut.