Billie Eilish at the 32nd Environmental Media Association (EMA) Awards Gala in Los Angeles, Oct. 8 2022. The pop star is flanked by her mother Maggie Baird (left) and EMA CEO Debbie Levin.
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Amy Sussman
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Getty Images for Environmental Media Association
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Now in its 33rd year, the Environmental Media Awards (EMA) might be the most celebrity-studded awards ceremony you've never heard of.
The backstory: Screenwriter and producer Norman Lear and entertainment executive Alan Horn launched the EMA in 1989. The awards also recognizeproductions that employ environmentally friendly practices throughout their processes, as well as feature films, TV shows and documentaries focusing on environmental justice, climate action and sustainability.
Who has gone: Over the years, Levin said the EMA has worked to raise its profile in a variety of ways. It's sought to engage younger celebrities — from actress Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary, Charlie's Angels) in the 1990s to Mean Girls' musical star Auli'i Cravahlo today.
When is it happening: The event, which takes place onSaturday, Jan. 27 in Los Angeles is in its 33rd year.
The Oscars, Grammys, Emmys and Golden Globes attract most of the public's attention during awards season each year. But the Environmental Media Association's (EMA) annual awards event — the EMA Awards — might be the most celebrity-studded accolades you've never heard of.
The event, which takes place onSaturday, Jan. 27 in Los Angeles — having been postponed from it usual October slot owing to the 2023 writers' and actors' strikes — is in its 33rd year.
Over the decades, the likes of Natalie Portman, Billie Eilish, George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Jeff Goldblum have shown up in electric vehicles and up-cycled couture to help honor figures in the entertainment industry leading the charge for sustainability. The awards also recognizeproductions that employ environmentally friendly practices throughout their processes, as well as feature films, TV shows and documentaries focusing on environmental justice, climate action and sustainability.
The gala on Saturday will include an Ongoing Commitment Award for actress Laura Dern, a live performance from singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow, and DJing by SamanthaRonson. Netflix leads the contenders, with seven nominations across nearly all of the eight EMA award categories for projects ranging from the movie comedy Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery to reality TV's Queer Eye "Sowing the Seeds" episode.
But the A-listy gala isn't live-streamed or broadcast. It's just for the attendees — though the organizers told NPR an edited version will be posted on the EMA website and social media channels a few weeks following the event.
"We have a completely different message. This is not an awards show. This is an educational event," said EMA CEO Debbie Levin, on having to compete with the more public-facing awards ceremonies this season. "We're talking about climate and sustainability, and hopefully educating, inspiring and motivating people when they come to this event."
A long legacy
Screenwriter and producer Norman Lear and entertainment executive Alan Horn launched the EMA in 1989.
Norman Lear arrives at the Environmental Media Association Awards Gala in 2015 in a Toyota vehicle.
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Getty for The Environmental Media Association
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"They founded the organization, because there was no place in the environmental community where stories were being told," Levin said. "A lot of organizations were doing climate advocacy work, but the public didn't know anything. Alan and Norman believed that highlighting storytelling about climate issues is a way to share them with the public."
Levin said the awards launched a couple of years later to help bring more awareness to these types of stories. "The idea was to use celebrity and the awards show platform to share on an international level that having environmental content within films and TV can be entertaining and educational."
Over the years, Levin said the EMA has worked to raise its profile in a variety of ways. It's sought to engage younger celebrities — from actress Cameron Diaz (There's Something About Mary, Charlie's Angels) in the 1990s to Mean Girls' musical star Auli'i Cravahlo today.
Levin is especially proud of her organization's push in the early 2000s to promote hybrid vehicles, specifically those of its now longtime sponsor Toyota. "For several years, we worked to get celebrities to arrive at the awards shows in this car and shoot them coming out of it," Levin said. "So it would be role modeling an alternative to a huge limo that got, like, three miles to the gallon."
Becoming better known
Despite its star power and longevity, the EMA has largely remained unknown to the broader public. Veteran Hollywood art director and climate activist Karen Steward said the organization's reputation is likely to grow — at least more broadly within the industry, if not also beyond it — in tandem with emergingother groups working at the intersection of climate change and entertainment, such as the Hollywood Climate Summit, and consultancy firms like Greenspark Group and Earth Angel.
"Unlike the Environmental Media Association, these groups are relatively new," said Steward. "And because of them, the landscape around them has become more accessible for conversation, education, and knowledge."
Levin said she welcomes all the newcomers in the space. "We're very establishment because we were founded by various establishment people, and for so long, it was hard being alone," Levin said. "So this is a gift for us to have other people trying to understand how urgent climate storytelling is."
Jordan Rynning
has been following this case for months, including interviewing the man at the center of allegations.
Published October 31, 2026 7:00 AM
Michael Angel Alvarez, 41, spoke with LAist on Sept. 16, 2026, about the federal body armor case against him being dismissed.
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Jordan Rynning
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LAist
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Topline:
The L.A. County District Attorney’s office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez earlier this week. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Most serious claims haven’t materialized: Though federal prosecutors made headlines claiming in court documents and on social media that Alvarez was “leading a violent street gang, while claiming to be a gang interventionist for the City,” they have not filed charges related to those claims.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office dropped its felony body armor charges against Michael Angel Alvarez on Wednesday. Alvarez was sentenced to time served on a lesser charge — a probation violation. He had served more than 100 days in jail earlier this year while awaiting trial.
Why Alvarez’s arrest made headlines: Alvarez was working as a city-contracted peace ambassador in MacArthur Park when he was arrested by federal agents in May. Federal and county prosecutors each brought felony charges against him, claiming he was in possession of body armor as a violent felon.
Bill Essayli, who leads the U.S. Attorney’s office in L.A., pointed to the case on social media to criticize city officials for allowing taxpayer money to be “shelled out to a convicted gang murderer.”
About his criminal record: Judges in federal and state court have now dismissed prosecutors’ felony charges against Alvarez, after U.S. District Judge Anne Hwang found on Sept. 9 that Alvarez did not have a violent felony conviction. Alvarez was 15 when he committed a gang-related murder. He was tried and convicted as an adult in 2002. After a change in state law increased the age at which minors could be sentenced as adults to 16, Alvarez’s case was sent back to juvenile court, and he was released in 2024. At that point, he had served more than 20 years.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday, Oct. 7 that Republican Bill Essayli is not legally serving as the top U.S. prosecutor in Los Angeles.
The ruling is the latest roadblock to the Trump administration’s effort to extend handpicked acting U.S. attorneys beyond the 120-day limit set by federal law. The strategy was designed to bypass confirmation by the U.S. Senate — something that generally requires a degree of bipartisan support.
Essayli “is unlawfully serving as a ‘de facto’ United States Attorney,” U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright wrote.
The order won’t take effect until the court rules on the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal. Essayli said he doesn’t agree with the court’s order. He said the president and Attorney General “have every right to select supervisors within the Justice Department.”
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Mariana Dale
explores and explains the forces that shape how and what kids learn from kindergarten to high school.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
Myrna Velasco (left) performs as Dolores Huerta in “¡Sí Se Puede!” at Boyle Heights City Hall on April 2, 2026.
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Carlin Stiehl
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LAist
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Topline:
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The backstory: Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Eliana Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring. “There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” Pipes said. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
An all-ages play about the life of Dolores Huerta and other under-told stories of the farmworker labor movement is back on tour in Los Angeles.
The show's extension had been announced prior to the news that Huerta died Wednesday, Oct. 28., at her Bakersfield home. She was 96 years old.
“There's this perception that farm work was only done by men,” said playwright Eliana Pipes. “There were women on the fields, there were women on the picket lines, and there were women in leadership in the United Farm Workers movement.”
Center Theatre Group commissioned ¡Sí Se Puede! from Pipes in March 2025 and it debuted in L.A. this spring.
CSULA seeks memories from underground music scenes
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
is an arts and general assignment reporter on LAist's Explore LA team.
Published October 31, 2026 5:00 AM
CSULA is seeking memorabilia from LA's underground music scenes for its research archives.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles.
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Topline
There’s a whole world of underground Southern California music history that’s hidden in storage boxes — photos, fliers, cassettes and other memorabilia. Research librarians at the California State University, Los Angeles are holding a community archive event on Nov. 5 to ensure the cultural memory of L.A.’s underground music scenes are preserved for future generations.
Why it matters: The memorabilia are the physical remnants of the supportive L.A. communities built around music and enjoyment. But many of these objects languish out of sight, and run the risk of being lost, along with the memories attached to them.
Why now: For four years, archive staff have held an annual day to receive ephemera from the public. They're doing it again on Thursday, Nov. 5.
Read on… to hear how goth, rockabilly and other underground clubs in L.A. inspired the head archivist.
Right around the year 2000, there was a club night in Hollywood called Clockwork Orange. Fans of The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and other bands came for the DJ’s mix of their favorite songs but also for a vibe that welcomed people regardless of race, ethnicity or sexual and gender identity.
“I was a pretty shy person, and so that was a place where I could sort of be myself and express myself,” said Azalea Camacho, a regular there in those days.
She had just graduated from Workman High School in the City of Industry and was also clubbing at rockabilly music nights in Rosemead and goth club nights in downtown L.A.
Camacho said there was lots of memorabilia from those times, such as photos taken in and outside the clubs, ticket stubs and promotional fliers. They're the physical remnants of those supportive communities built around music and enjoyment, but many of them languish in shoeboxes and storage units, at risk of being lost — along with the memories attached to them.
Cal State LA has hosted Sounds of the Underground Archive for the last four years. It's an opportunity for people to donate their underground music scene memorabilia.
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Courtesy Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State University, Los Angeles
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“I think the danger is maybe those stories are not being told, or people don't know about the story,” she said.
Keeping stories alive
More than two decades later, Camacho is now in a position to make sure those stories are kept alive. She’s head of special collections and archives at the university library at California State University, Los Angeles.
Four years ago, she and library staff created an annual day for area residents to donate or digitize memorabilia for their Sounds of the Underground Archive. This year it's on Thursday, Nov. 5. They’ll accept physical donations, but they’ll also have a scanner to digitize printed material, so people can keep items that are precious to them.
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND ARCHIVE
Date: Thursday, Nov. 5 Time: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m. Location: Cal State LA Library Community Room, 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles
Camacho is hoping this year will bring in a bumper amount of memorabilia. It's taken time to get the word out, she said.
“From the actual community archiving day [we’ve collected] maybe 100 or less than 100 items. … It's not a lot,” she said.
She said they're on the lookout for a wide range of mementos, including:
Fliers
Handbills
Zines
Newsletters
Posters
Set lists
Photographs (prints, negatives or digital files)
Cassette tapes, CDs, or vinyl records
Ticket stubs
Wristbands
Band merchandise (stickers, buttons, patches, T-shirts)
DIY press kits or liner notes and correspondence (letters, emails, messages related to music scenes)
Venue or collective ephemera (membership cards, schedules, announcements and more)
