The Brief

Reyna Grande was 9 years old when she came to this country from the mountainous Mexican state of Guerrero in 1985.

She came from Iguala, a town that would become infamous in 2014 after 43 teachers’ college students were taken by armed men and never seen again.

Grande’s parents emigrated before her, hoping to give their children a life without the poverty they’d endured.

“We were afraid that our parents would forget about us, that they would not come back,” she told LAist. “It was a childhood full of fears.”

Today, Grande is an established author who’s published several award-winning books, including novels and memoirs. She has also co-edited a collection of poetry, prose, and artwork about what it’s like to live as an undocumented person in the United States.

Soon, she’ll publish an essay collection, tentatively titled Writing Home, about immigration, motherhood, and the craft of writing.

But none of this came easy. In fact, it wasn’t even part of her plans, which would be upended in ways big and small, until she enrolled at Pasadena City College.

English, books, and band 

Grande and her siblings didn’t see their father for eight years. When he first moved away, he worked in California’s Central Valley, harvesting crops and sleeping in an abandoned car to save as much as possible. His goal was to build his family a home.

With the help of a coyote, Grande and her siblings joined their father in the United States. They settled with him and their new stepmother in Highland Park, before the neighborhood gentrified.

Grande became a fifth grade ESL student at Aldama Elementary School, an experience that clawed at her sense of worth.

Her classmates looked like her and had Spanish surnames. But they spoke English fluently, “and sometimes they were the ones making fun of me and my siblings, making fun of our ‘wetback’ accent,” she said.

Grande learned to play the alto sax at Luther Burbank Junior High School, where she also read voraciously and won a short-story contest. At Franklin High School, she joined the marching band and proudly donned a navy blue and gold uniform at parades, football games, and pep rallies. Her father, who was forced to quit school when he was 9, demanded academic excellence. Grande kept good grades. And when she was admitted to UC Irvine, she celebrated with her family.

But there were a lot of conflicts at home. Both of her older siblings had started college and quit, and her sister had just left the house without their father’s consent. Ultimately, he didn’t let Grande go to UCI.

Grande was still underage when she graduated from high school. All she knew was that she wanted to keep studying.

Reveling in campus life

Grande enrolled at Pasadena City College. And for the next two and a half years, she fully immersed herself on campus.

She prioritized her general education courses, but also made room in her schedule for drawing and painting. She worked as a tutor, wrote for the school paper, signed up for swimming lessons, played the alto sax in the marching band, and represented her college at the annual Pasadena Rose Parade.

Grande also loved to write. For her, it was a kind of therapy, a tool that helped her sift through what was going on at home. Her father drank heavily and was often abusive. He beat her and her stepmother.

Grande kept a journal and filled hundreds and hundreds of blank pages. Still, she didn’t envision a career in writing.

“I never thought, ‘Oh, I'm gonna grow up to be a professional writer,’” she said. “Part of that was because, all through my experience in school, I hadn't been exposed to any authors who look like me.”

That changed in the summer of 1994. Grande enrolled in Dr. Diana Savas’ English class, and she introduced her to a host of Latina and Latin American authors: Helena María Viramontes. Sandra Cisneros. Isabel Allende. Julia Alvarez. Laura Esquivel.

She would often tell Grande a variation of this refrain: “If Alvarez, Cisneros, and Viramontes can publish their stories, so can you.”

“Little by little, she convinced me that I had the talent, that I had stories that mattered,” said Grande. “Thanks to her, my relationship to writing changed.”

Savas was surprised that, in a city like L.A., “which was predominantly Latino and Mexican,” Grande “had never read a book by a Latina or Latino author.”

“That just absolutely boggled my mind,” she told LAist.

“I just wanted her to know about them,” Savas added. “Part of that was that they were Latino, Latina writers. But they were also just wonderful writers.”

A new home

Savas also supported Grande through an especially challenging moment. One evening, her father beat her stepmother so severely that she had to go to the hospital. Then, the police came to their home.

“They arrested him right in front of me,” said Grande. “I watched the cops take him away. And then, the next day, I still had to go to class, turn in my homework, pay attention.”

She moved in with her estranged mother and slept on the floor of her tiny apartment. Grande used public transportation to get around, and it now took her three hours to get home from Pasadena. She had a class that ended at 7 p.m. One night, a group of men followed her home. Grande ran all the way to the apartment. When she told her mother about what happened, she suggested dropping the class.

“I felt so helpless and hopeless,” said Grande. “I needed to talk to someone.”

She went to Savas’ office hours, hoping for some advice. Savas listened carefully. Then, she offered her a room in her home.

Savas lived across the street from campus. And aside from being convenient, the professor’s home made Grande feel safe. At her father’s house, she’d grown accustomed to being holed up in her bedroom, lest she run across him in a moment of ire. In The Distance Between Us, one of Grande’s memoirs, she describes how different it was to live with Savas:

“I'm really grateful,” said Grande. “She didn't have to do that.”

Savas doesn’t think she did anything remarkable. She offered Grande a place to stay, she told LAist, out of “basic human decency.”

When it came time for Grande to transfer to a four-year university, Savas also provided support. Together, they researched schools with strong creative writing programs. Savas also proofread her personal statements and encouraged her to apply for scholarships.

Today, nearly 30 years later, Savas thinks Grande gives her “too much credit.”

She confirmed that she helped Grande with the transfer process, but she underscored that Grande was “very industrious.”

“She was always finding scholarships here and there and everywhere,” Savas told LAist.

When the acceptance letters arrived, Grande had to choose between UCLA or UC Santa Cruz. Savas encouraged her to explore someplace new.

Grande took her advice and moved up north. She fell in love with the redwood forest, made new friends, and gained independence. Soon after, she became the first in her family to earn a college degree. When she graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz, her father, mother, siblings, and extended family were in the audience.

Savas was there too.

“I think we all need somebody to tell us ‘Yes,’” she said. “Most of us hear: ‘No, that's impossible. No, don't do that. No, that's the wrong career.’ I think that's the message most students get ... My role was to say: ‘Yes, you can do this, you should do this.’”

Author Reyna Grande with her former English professor, Diana Savas, at a scholarship dinner in 1996.

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Courtesy of Reyna Grande

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Grande credits her community college experience with transforming the trajectory of her life.

“I have so much love for [Pasadena City College],” she said. “It was there that I started to take the steps I needed to become the person I am now.”

She’s returned to the campus repeatedly, including in 2008 to deliver a commencement speech, and in 2012 as the college’s first writer-in-residence.

Grande has also lectured at other colleges and universities and will soon be a visiting faculty member at Randolph College in Virginia. These experiences have given her a chance to see how higher ed institutions across the country are working to help meet students’ basic needs.

“I believe there is more awareness now than when I was a student, of how students may be suffering from housing or food insecurity,” she told LAist via email. “I know some colleges even run a food pantry where students can come and grab what they need. But community colleges could provide more support in terms of emergency housing. When I visit colleges, sometimes I hear stories of students living in their cars, for example, because they have nowhere else to go."

She added that more counseling would help students with their mental health: "All these things would help students have a better chance of succeeding.”

'Maybe I’m not really a writer'

Grande completed her first novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, in the early 2000s. At the time, she was back in Los Angeles, working as a teacher at Edison Middle School. She was also a single mother with a little boy. At night, she’d stay up late writing, hunched over her kitchen table.

“I don't even know how I managed to find the energy to work on that novel,” she said. “But I had this desperation of making sure that my dream didn't die.”

When the book was published in 2006, a friend called her to say he saw it at Vroman’s bookstore in Pasadena.

Grande got in her car and drove over to see it. She found her book on display and snapped a photo. Part of her couldn’t believe her eyes.

Writing a second novel was even harder, she said.

“I kept thinking, ‘What's my agent gonna think about this book? What’s my editor gonna think about this book? What are the readers gonna think about it? What are the book critics gonna say?’ I had all these voices in my head.”

“Maybe I’m not really a writer,” she thought. “Maybe I just got lucky. Maybe the first book was a fluke.”

Today, she knows it wasn’t.

Topline:

Key topics: The candidates each had about 45 minutes to individually answer questions from Erin Stone, an LAist senior reporter focused on climate and environment.

Here are some of the topics they covered:

• Extreme heat
• Emergency preparedness and recovery
• Protecting communities from pollution
• Water
• Public transit

About the organizers: The event is organized by a coalition of local environmental and environmental justice groups including: Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, SCOPE-LA, Sierra Club, Clean and Healthy California, Neighborhood Council Sustainability Alliance and Communities for a Better Environment

LAist will have more coverage and analysis of the conversations Friday morning.

The Trump administration is taking steps to advance a mysterious and unprecedented project to compile state-by-state lists of people it has decided are eligible citizens over the age of 18 who can vote in the upcoming midterm election. But it will no longer meet its own deadline to publish that information on a portal on Friday, which is 60 days before Election Day.

Department of Justice attorneys told opposing counsel in two separate lawsuits that instead of meeting the Sept. 4 deadline, they would give 48-hours notice to plaintiffs' counsel before the state citizenship portal was launched, according to recent court filings.

The U.S. has never attempted to create a comprehensive list of American citizens before this administration. Maintaining voter lists is the responsibility of states, not the federal government, as the Constitution dictates that states control elections. But President Trump has repeatedly taken steps to try to exert executive control over elections.

The basis for the federal government creating state citizenship lists is an executive order Trump signed on March 31. A lower court had blocked implementation of key parts of that executive order in 23 states and Washington, D.C., but the Supreme Court stayed that injunction late last month, opening the door for the plan to be implemented after all.

The March 31 executive order directs U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Social Security Administration to create "State Citizenship Lists" of individuals the agencies believe are citizens in each state, and send those lists to state officials "no fewer than 60 days before each regularly scheduled Federal election."

The next section of the executive order says the U.S. attorney general will prioritize investigating and prosecuting state and local officials who issue federal ballots to anyone not eligible to vote.

"States here have a strong incentive to actually use these lists to try to avoid federal investigation," said Jules Torti, counsel at the nonprofit Protect Democracy, in an interview with NPR. "But we know that these lists are going to be based on really inaccurate data. So the risk of disenfranchisement here is really, really palpable."

The privacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center, along with individual voters, filed a motion Thursday asking a federal judge in Maryland to block the administration from creating the citizenship lists and publishing them on a portal. Specifically, they seek to block a June 8 implementation memo authored by USCIS director Joseph Edlow that outlines the plan.

The motion, which was brought by Protect Democracy, along with another nonprofit legal group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, argues the administration's plans to share Americans' personal data between agencies and then disseminate the data to states violates multiple federal laws, including the Privacy Act, the Social Security Act and the Administrative Procedures Act. Under the Privacy Act, federal agencies must give the public 30 days notice and the opportunity to comment before they collect and disseminate Americans' personal data for a new purpose.

The EPIC lawsuit also argues the government does not have access to accurate, up-to-date information on American citizens, especially those who move frequently, have changed their names, or are foreign-born. For example, Social Security's citizenship data often isn't updated when people naturalize, and the SAVE data system, operated by USCIS, frequently doesn't include records for people who became citizens as minors when their parents naturalized.

Torti said it is "deeply concerning" that the administration is still planning to go ahead with the creation of citizenship lists but is no longer going to meet the deadline, since that means the lists will be completed even closer to Election Day.

"It means additional chaos, additional confusion for the state election officials and just for voters," Torti said. "And I think that's the point. The point here is to create chaos in advance of the election."

Neither the Department of Justice, nor the Department of Homeland Security, which is tasked with compiling the citizenship lists, responded to NPR's request for comment.

The June 8 implementation memo stated that the portal for state election officials would be available around June 30 and a second portal where citizens could check their information would be available at a later date – but that deadline passed without further updates.

The federal government has secured a domain for the state citizenship lists portal. While the portal is not currently online, it was briefly live in recent days with a landing page that said "Coming Soon," according to court filings.

Lawyers representing Democratic party groups that had challenged the March 31 executive order in a separate lawsuit filed in April, accused the administration in a recent filing of failing to notify the court or the parties about its plans to move forward with the state citizenship portal. They asked the judge to require the federal government to give immediate updates about their plans to implement the executive order.

This latest legal battle over the administration's plans to compile state citizenship lists comes as the Department of Homeland Security is ramping up its efforts to analyze state voter rolls with the goal of identifying potential noncitizens who are registered to vote. Previous audits have found instances of noncitizens casting ballots to be incredibly rare. 

Additionally, last week, ICE published a request for information on a federal procurement site seeking vendors who can compile public voter rolls and voter history files from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, "to support Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) fraud detection and data segmentation activities."

NPR's Hansi Lo Wang contributed reporting to this story. 
Copyright 2026 NPR

A group of California lawmakers called on federal officials to halt and reject a proposed land exchange in Yosemite National Park that would allow a private developer to take control of a strip of land in the park for an access road to the park’s main attractions.

The letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on Wednesday was signed by a bipartisan group of 61 state legislators led by Assemblymember Greg Wallis, a Republican who represents Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

“Republicans and Democrats from both houses of the Legislature are standing together because some things are bigger than politics,” Wallis said in a statement. “Yosemite is not a subdivision. It is not a bargaining chip. And it is not for sale. Secretary Burgum and the administration should put an end to this proposal.”

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (center) visited the Tunnel Tops in San Francisco in 2025 after he and then-Attorney General Pam Bondi toured Alcatraz ahead of their announcement to reopen the former federal prison.

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Katie DeBenedetti

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KQED

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The group argued that the proposed land exchange is counter to the mission of the National Park Service and the founding of Yosemite in 1864, which set aside the start of the park for public use and protection for the first time in the history of the federal government.

“What is being proposed now runs directly against that founding principle, more than a century and a half later,” the letter states.

It continues later: “Our national parks belong equally to every American. They are not the Department’s to trade away, and they are not for sale.”

The proposal was first reported by news outlet NOTUS, which published a story last week alleging that members of the Trump administration were meeting with representatives of Kingsbarn Realty Capital, a private equity group that owns an 83-acre parcel next to the park. In an email to KQED, Kingsbarn’s lawyer Lanny J. Davis confirmed the group is pursuing the land exchange to build a new access road from its property to the park.

Previous owners have pushed for the same deal since the early 2000s and failed in court.

State Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), who signed on to the letter, called the proposal “indefensible,” and said he’s looking at state laws to ensure a similar proposal could never slip through.

“If the Trump administration can’t defend this publicly in broad daylight, then they shouldn’t be doing it,” he said.

Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Marin) told KQED’s Forum on Wednesday that he’s worried there isn’t enough opposition among his Republican colleagues in Congress to stop the Trump administration’s efforts.

“I have not seen a single Republican colleague willing to stand up to Donald Trump when he decides that he’s just going to do something,” Huffman said. “So that is my concern, that he just plows ahead with this — even if it has dubious legal authority, or even if it’s an open violation of the law. He’s doing stuff like that anyway. And in this Congress, there’s no one here to stop him.”

In a statement to KQED, state Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Modesto), whose district includes parts of Yosemite, said she will “keep pressing the Department [of the Interior] for a clear answer that this exchange will not proceed.”

Since the news of the deal broke late last week, it has sparked condemnation from a number of Democratic state leaders, including Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, as well as Attorney General Rob Bonta and Bonta’s predecessor, Xavier Becerra, who leads the race for California governor.

“The secretive backroom land-exchange scheme has gotten everyone’s attention,” said Neal Desai, senior Pacific regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association. “I can’t recall another issue — and I’ve been working in the conservation space for over a couple of decades — where the response has been this sharp and so one-sided that this is a terrible idea that should not happen.”

The backlash comes at a turbulent time for National Park Service employees, who have faced layoffs, staffing cuts and fear of retaliation for speaking up against Trump administration policies since the start of the second Trump administration.

Some former employees have also raised concerns about a potential reorganization of the National Park Service, according to a separate letter sent to Burgum’s office Wednesday. According to an email seen by KQED, park superintendents have been asked to attend in-person regional meetings in September — with no clear agenda beyond discussing “agency priorities, our FY 2026 outlook, and other matters important to the work ahead.”

The letter to Burgam, signed by 20 retired parks superintendents warns: “An ill-advised and hastily planned reorganization could dismantle that structure, putting our parks — and those who visit them — at great risk.”

Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, which organized the letter, said the email about regional meetings “raises some alarm bells.”

“The Park Service is already operating from a difficult place, from a place of crisis,” she said. “And any additional cuts, any movements or actions that would further jeopardize the capacity of the folks that are left, that’s concerning. It’s worrying, and it’ll have a devastating impact on the Park Service.”

Among the letter’s signatories is Don Neubacher, retired Yosemite superintendent, who has been a vocal advocate for parks amid the Trump administration’s changes.

Thompson said she’s worried parks leaders will be stretched even further than they already are, and local decision-making over parks could be in jeopardy.

“Morale is low,” Thompson said. “It’s a hard time to be a federal employee. Anything that … contributes to this culture of fear, it’s just not acceptable.”

This story first appeared on Long Beach Post.

Long Beach is offering up to $1,500 for local business owners and landlords to equip their storefronts with safety measures like cameras, floodlights, alarms and point-of-sale systems.

The grant program is accepting online applications now. You can apply here.

Businesses with storefronts of 1,500 square feet or less may receive grants of up to $750, while businesses between 1,500 and 5,000 square feet are eligible for up to $1,500.

Nonprofit organizations are eligible as well, and landlords can apply on behalf of commercial storefronts that are vacant or occupied. Franchises can also receive the grant.

To qualify, a business must:

• Have an active business license for a storefront within the city
• Be independently owned and operated (franchises are eligible)
• Be currently open and active for business
• Earn no more than $5 million in annual gross revenue
• Hold “active” status with the California Secretary of State for corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships

The funds will be provided as a reimbursement after eligible security improvements are installed. Grants will be given out until funds are exhausted.

It’s a great idea, according to Edwin Jara, who manages a pet store in Belmont Heights and was on the receiving end of a break-in earlier this year.

His store had security measures already in place — two cameras and an alarm system — but even that wasn’t enough to deter a masked burglar who grabbed $1,000 cash and a handful of dog treats.

Despite having footage of the burglar, Jara said police haven’t been able to catch the person and that a detective never responded after he filed a police report.

The grant program is being paid for with $350,000 from the city’s Redvelopment Agency along with $50,000 from Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office.

“Our local small businesses are part of the fabric of our neighborhoods, and when business owners feel unsafe, the whole community feels it,” Hahn said in a statement.

In a statement, Mayor Rex Richardson said the program is a “direct investment in the hardworking business owners who make our commercial corridors vibrant and welcoming.”

Jara said he would consider applying for a grant if the city could send someone to help him and the store’s owner fill out the application.

He was offered a separate grant to replace a glass door the burglar smashed, but the store’s owner opted not to fill out the application.

“There was a lot of stuff that we needed to do, and I don’t have a lot of that information,” Jara said.