The Brief

For college students seeking a job that fits around their academic schedules, and the opportunity to do meaningful work in their communities, a popular state program offers both.

Since it launched in 2022, the state program known as College Corps has been paying college students for community service work. And it has become so popular that only 30% of students who apply get a position.

The program helps college students, including those who are immigrants lacking permanent legal status, pay for college while serving in community-based organizations.

Students are dispersed across California tackling diverse needs. Fellows were key, for instance, in helping food banks meet a surge in demand during last year’s government shutdown, said Josh Fryday, director of California Service Corps. And during the wildfires in Los Angeles last January, fellows were there to support, he said.

“When the government shut down and there was a huge shortage or huge demand at the food bank and they needed support, it was our College Corps members that got deployed. Same thing after the fires,” said Fryday.

The program has recruited more than 3,000 students each academic year since it started, some serving multiple years. Students serve 15 hours a week for 30 weeks and receive monthly stipends totaling $7,000 for the academic school year. At that time those who complete 450 service hours receive an additional $3,000 educational award.

Student volunteer Yongjie restocks shelves with canned goods at the UC Berkeley campus food pantry on Oct. 25, 2019.

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Anne Wernikoff

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College Corps is just one program within California Service Corps, a statewide service initiative that consists of three other paid service programs sending members into communities around the state.

The state gave College Corps $83.6 million for 2026-27 in addition to a one-time $5 million allotment this academic year to help expand the program to additional campuses. The program currently has 45 participating campuses, 41 of them across California’s public community college and university systems. For the next cohort, they’re planning to expand to 52 campuses and recruit about 4,000 students. Some of the new partner sites include Cal State Northridge, Monterey Peninsula College and UC Santa Barbara.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office had recommended rejecting the request for more funding, and it was cut from the budget proposal in June. However, it was reinstated in the final Budget Act.

The program started as a pilot, intended to run through 2023-24 while receiving one-time funding each year. Now, according to the LAO budget overview for 2025-26, the intent is to continue with the $84 million in annual funding permanently starting in 2026-27. Of the $84 million, $45 million would go towards program support and administrative costs for the program while the rest would go toward aid for students.

The College Corps program is open to students at participating campuses, including those who qualify for AB 540, a state law that allows eligible students without legal status to qualify for California in-state tuition and aid. The state has about 100,000 immigrant students without permanent legal status who don’t qualify for federal work-study programs and many lack the necessary permits to work other jobs, according to the Higher Education Immigration Portal.

“I wanted to make sure that we gave an opportunity to our Dreamers to be part of [College Corps],” said Fryday. “We’ve had unbelievable success stories of AB 540 students… [by] having this program change their lives and giving them opportunities that they, quite frankly, have been excluded from for far too long.”

Officials with California Service Corps did not provide numbers on how many spots are filled by immigrant students eligible for in-state tuition and aid under AB 540.

Rafael, an immigrant student and College Corps fellow, came from Mexico to the United States at the age of 14. He requested that his full name not be used due to concerns about his legal status.

Job opportunities do not come easy for Rafael due to his lack of a Social Security number.

“For undocumented students, there are not a lot of things that you can apply to be part of,” he said. “So that was also kind of like my only opportunity.”

Within the program, fellows can choose to serve in K-12 education, climate action or food insecurity. Students often help with tutoring at school sites, work with food banks, and serve at their campus gardens and food pantries.

Eligible students must be full-time undergraduates and study at one of eight participating University of California campuses, 17 California State Universities, 23 community colleges, and four private colleges.

Fellows get sworn in by Gov. Gavin Newsom during a ceremony in Sacramento on Oct. 7, 2022.

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“We have students from all different backgrounds and our students are also getting different perspectives of diversity and empathy and learning how to see how other people live in their community,” said Katrina Gilmore, director of College Corps at Cal State Bakersfield.

Rafael, an English major, currently volunteers at a history museum in his community, a role he holds close to his heart. When he visited a museum for the first time in Mexico, he was amazed by the exhibits and the curiosity they sparked. He is now helping the museum develop an audio tour guide of the exhibits in English and Spanish to help more people feel included.

“It was really touching because my first language is Spanish and I remember having a hard time learning a lot of things,” he said. “I have been in that position. I know how it feels.”

Fellows are chosen based on their interest in service and availability to juggle the service hours with their academics. Eligible students must be full-time undergraduates, have good academic standing and demonstrate financial need.

Currently, UC Berkeley has 98 College Corps student workers. More than 200 students applied, said Ashley Kelly, a supervisor for the program at UC Berkeley.

“That just demonstrated to us that there's a huge desire and demand to do this program, that the program is working, it's impactful, and we just need to keep working to create more opportunities for students to be part of programs like this,” said Fryday.

California Chief Service Officer Josh Fryday speaks at the College Corps fellows swearing-in event in Sacramento on Oct. 7, 2022. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters For Lori Dominguez, a College Corps fellow at Cal State Bakersfield, the program has helped her pay for school. She said that if it wasn’t for the program, she would probably have to drop out of college.

“I have loans for my education, and, like, I’m broke, and I barely have job experience,” said Dominguez.

Dominguez struggled with school last year after leaving her job at her local library to take care of her mom who had surgery. She sought out College Corps as a way to pay for school with a program that understands that her education is her priority.

She currently serves with Habitat for Humanity ReStore, a secondhand store whose profits go towards building affordable homes in the community. Dominguez processes donated items such as clothing, toys and furniture.

The program is flexible with students' schedules, allowing Dominguez to make up missed hours at different work sites and giving her the opportunity to earn money while still being able to pursue a biology degree. She hopes to become a clinical lab scientist.

DJ Nunley and his wife, Lynn Nunley, in Albany on Feb. 27, 2026.

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Manuel Orbegozo

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Djuane "DJ” Nunley, a senior at UC Berkeley, has been a College Corps fellow since its pilot year. He joined the program at College of the Desert in Coachella Valley, before transferring to UC Berkeley.

He served in both campus’ food pantries and also worked at a food warehouse in Coachella Valley where he sorted food before it spoiled to see what could be preserved.

“I would see how families would just be so excited to get the food that they were getting,” said Nunley. “It was a humbling experience.”

He currently serves with UC Berkeley’s Incarceration to College program, tutoring incarcerated youth — and youth whose parents have been incarcerated — at Alameda County Juvenile Hall and with Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, a community-based organization.

Nunley’s wife Lynn attended College of the Desert and joined College Corps at the same time with a desire to help the community. They were both accepted and transferred to UC Berkeley, where they moved with their eight kids ranging in age from three to 16.

“[College Corps] helped us out a big deal… We have a lot of children and raising kids is not easy. And financially, it's a lot on us,” said Nunley.

For Nunley, the hardest thing about being a College Corps fellow is juggling his service hours, school and family. But he manages with the support of his wife and his older kids.

Nunley was in the entertainment business for 12 years, making music and working as a freelance writer. He started college as an English major hoping to brush up on his writing skills. Joining College Corps shifted his career aspirations away from his original plan and towards helping children.

He is now double majoring in psychology and social welfare with plans of going to graduate school and becoming a psychologist that specializes in talk therapy for youth with traumatic experiences. He wants to open a nonprofit organization in Coachella Valley with his wife to assist kids from underrepresented communities.

“Once I became a part of College Corps, my perspective in life changed, like I had a great epiphany… I realized how my words could actually uplift,” said Nunley.

Brittany Oceguera is a contributor with the College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. CalMatters higher education coverage is supported by a grant from the College Futures Foundation.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

The World Cup and the Hollywood Fringe theater festival may not have a huge Venn diagram of overlapping fans, but perhaps the closest is the theatrics of England fans singing "It’s Coming Home" loudly at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica (get there early if you want a seat for the England match on Tuesday). Then head to the theater to check out sporty Fringe shows Ball Boy, where comedian Ben Fisher recounts his experiences as the gay son of a baseball umpire, or go catch Kickball: The Musical (self-explanatory!).

If music is more your thing, Licorice Pizza’s picks for the week include supermodel and eyebrows icon Cara Delevingne’s two special showcases at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on Monday and Tuesday; also on Monday, shoegaze legends Heavenly make their own comeback at the Regent.

Tuesday, rapper and singer Isaiah Rashad is at the Grammy Museum, and singer-songwriter Audrey Hobert plays her first of two nights at the Wiltern. Also on Wednesday, Khalid plays the Greek, Madison Beer and Thủy play the Forum, Britrockers Bôa play the Bellwether, and rising U.K. electropop star Girli is at the Lodge Room.

On Thursday, Summer Walker is at the Crypto.com Arena, and Killswitch Engage with Machine Head are at the Hollywood Palladium.

Elsewhere on LAist, you can find out who to blame for the lack of public bathrooms in L.A., make a plan to see the top 25 documentaries of this century and get our full guide to World Cup festivities around town.

Events

16th Annual Zócalo Book Prize Event: America, Can We Take Down the Walls Between Us?

Thursday, June 25, 7 p.m. 
ASU California Center Broadway 
1111 S. Broadway, Downtown L.A.
COST: FREE; MORE INFO

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Anand Pandian, the winner of the 2026 Zócalo Book Prize, will join political strategist and Lincoln Project co-founder Mike Madrid for a conversation about Pandian’s winning book, Something Between Us: The Everyday Walls of American Life, and How to Take Them Down. From fences around our houses to the "walled gardens" of the internet, our real and imagined borders are the focus of Pandian’s work. Plus, Deborah Ager, winner of the Zócalo Poetry Prize, will read her winning poem, “Letter from Indialantic.”

Rod Lightning & the Thunderbolts of Love

Thursday, June 25, 6 p.m.
Concerts on Cañon
Beverly Cañon Gardens
241 N. Canon Drive, Beverly Hills
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Celebrate Pride with a free early evening concert in Beverly Hills, featuring classic hits from Rod Lightning & the Thunderbolts of Love.

29th Annual Dances With Films LA Festival

Wednesday, June 24, 4 p.m.
The Art of Sharing film screening
Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood
COST: $26.90; MORE INFO 

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The annual indie film fest Dances With Films continues through June 28, but this Wednesday is a great chance to see the block of documentary short films in the lineup. The docs include The Art of Sharing, which follows Michelin-starred chef and artist Minh H. Phan during her artist residency with Food Forward, a California nonprofit dedicated to rescuing fresh surplus produce that we’ve featured in Best Things to Do for their annual Zest Fest and volunteer opportunities.

Dataland 

Ongoing
100 S. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A.
COST: FROM $49; MORE INFO

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Refik Anadol Studio

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I had the chance to spend several hours at Dataland, the world’s first AI art museum, ahead of its opening, and to speak with its founders, the artists (and married couple) Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkiliç. The pair have brought to life something truly unique, and we’re lucky to be in L.A. to experience it. You enter into a deeply immersive (I know, overused word, but it’s true) world that takes you to the rainforests of the Amazon and into the connected networks that exist across nature. It’s a totally new way of going to a museum, and I think there’s a lot that other institutions that could take notes on how to make art and technology feel visceral and relevant. It just opened last week and is a permanent installation that takes more than two hours to really see, so plan accordingly.

Stud Country beginner night 

Monday, June 22, 8 p.m.
Los Globos 
3040 W. Sunset Blvd., Silver Lake
COST: $20; MORE INFO

Cross learning to country line dance off your bucket list at Stud Country’s weekly queer line-dancing party at Los Globos. Mondays are for beginners; Thursdays, you’d better know what you’re doing or fear the trample! Howdy, pardner.

Chris Fleming

Tuesday, June 23, 8 p.m.
Largo at the Coronet
366 N. La Cienega Blvd., Melrose 
COST: $50; MORE INFO 

Chris Fleming performs at the Largo this week.

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I saw Chris Fleming at a Netflix Is a Joke Festival event, and now I’m kind of obsessed with their quirky, offbeat humor. They’re doing a standup set at the Largo — which will definitely be longer than their fleeting but excellent Widow’s Bay turn as the shaman who gets sucked up into a tornado (IYKYK).

Live reading: Mrs. Alving & The Captain, Los Feliz

Wednesday, June 24, 7:30 p.m.
Echo Theater Company
Atwater Village Theatre
3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village
COST: FREE; MORE INFO 

Hamish Linklater's new play will get a free reading this week.

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Oh look, another Widow’s Bay reference from me. Y’all really need to watch this show. But I digress. This time, the featured actor from the Apple TV hit is Hamish Linklater, who wrote a new play — Mrs. Alving & The Captain, Los Feliz — and is also in the cast. Get in early and check out this free reading of the new comedy with Echo Theater Company.

It all began with a business contract signed inside a pickup truck in the desert — with little more than a dream and a song — and became something far bigger than anyone could have imagined.

That's the story of La Copine, the cult-favorite restaurant that helped redefine what dining in the Mojave Desert could be.

"I would not advise anyone to do what we did," says Claire Wadsworth, who, along with her wife and partner Nikki Hill, bought the restaurant with a $5,000 check from their honeymoon fund — no lawyers, no inspection, and seven days to come up with the rest of the money.

At the time, Wadsworth and Hill were ready to sign a lease on an L.A. restaurant space. Hill was working as a sous chef under Antonia Lofaso at Scopa in Venice, a chef she still counts among her closest mentors and friends. Wadsworth was in the music industry: a musician herself, trained at Berklee College of Music, who also ran the front desk at the Village recording studio in West L.A. There, she mastered the craft of hospitality, learning the food and drink orders of the high-profile clients who came through — Elton John's non-alcoholic Heineken, Weezer's penchant for vegan fare.

A cult favorite in the desert

Eleven years later, La Copine has become the kind of place people plan whole trips around — a remote desert restaurant that draws road-trippers, locals and a steady stream of famous fans alike. Set near Joshua Tree, it pulls in music from every direction: over the years it has fed and hosted the likes of Big Thief, Jenny Lewis, Courtney Barnett and Patti Smith, with neighbors like Pappy & Harriet's and Rancho de la Luna feeding the same creative current.

La Copine's hand-lettered sign stands roadside in Flamingo Heights, near Joshua Tree.

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What keeps people making the drive is a globe-hopping but unfussy menu — dishes pulled from France, the Mediterranean, Southeast Asia and beyond, built on fresh ingredients and a come-as-you-are spirit that treats a curious first-timer and a longtime regular exactly the same. It's food that's adventurous without being precious, the kind that has earned the restaurant a cult following and a reputation as one of California's most singular places to eat.

Inside the cookbook, each chapter opens with its own illustration.

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That sensibility is now a cookbook. La Copine: New California Cooking from an Oasis in the Desert , written with James Beard Award–nominated author Ben Mims, translates the restaurant's dishes — and its philosophy — for the home kitchen.

On June 25, Wadsworth and Hill bring it to Pasadena for Cookbook Live, an onstage conversation and live cooking demo presented by LAist in partnership with the James Beard Foundation. Wadsworth will also be giving a short performance under her alias St. Claire.

The food

The menu at La Copine refuses to sit still. Take the bánh mì, which started as a special, born from a craving for Southeast Asian flavors and an unwillingness to drive two hours to the San Gabriel Valley for the real thing. Their version leans indulgent: pork belly with a house five-spice-and-brown-sugar rub and yuzu kosho — a spicy Japanese citrus-chile paste — folded into house mayo. The galette complète, inspired by Gabrielle Hamilton's writing on the savory buckwheat crêpes of Brittany, is naturally gluten-free and built with ham, gruyère, a fried egg, and a tangy apricot gastrique. And the Sichuan noodles, a loose riff on dan dan, swap fermented black garlic for pickled mustard greens, tahini for Chinese sesame paste, and mushrooms for pork — vegan-friendly by design.

Staying affordable for their community

Beyond the food itself, Wadsworth and Hill consider affordability part of their mission at La Copine. In a town where, by their estimate, the median income is around $25,000, they aim to appeal to both diners accustomed to high-end prices and locals living on a fixed income.

The pair share the story of one of their favorite regulars, Patty, who lives on Social Security and comes in once or twice a month. She's open about what she budgets — about $50 a visit for the salad Copine, a glass of wine, a panna cotta, and a cup of gazpacho. "Patty needs to be able to come in here and afford the meal," they say.

Their goal, they say, is to make food so good that people forget what they spent, without making it so expensive that they're afraid to walk in.

Dessert lined up on the pass — proof the sweet end of the menu gets the same care as everything else.

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Sheva Kafai

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Music + food

When speaking with the La Copine couple, one thing becomes very clear: music is almost as central to the restaurant's concept as the food itself. Recalling the night they met, Hill says she was working a catering gig when Wadsworth put on a song by the band Devotchka — a group they both loved — a moment that signaled to each of them that they'd found their type. It now opens their cookbook.

To them, music is "woven into the fabric of our restaurant."

When it came to laying out the dining room, Wadsworth gave up a table to make space for a piano, so that she and visiting musicians could perform. She plays under the name St. Claire and hosts cabaret nights; a nomadic piano tuner now shows up to tune the instrument for free, won over by the fact that they sacrificed a table for it.

Ultimately, what Wadsworth and Hill hope visitors take away has less to do with any single dish than with a state of mind. Slow down, they say. Take in the view. Do nothing for a while.

"La Copine is a happy place in the universe," Wadsworth says.

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho has resigned as leader of the Los Angeles Unified School District, four months after the FBI searched his home and office.

A district spokesperson confirmed a letter of resignation from Carvalho on Sunday night. The reason for the timing wasn’t immediately clear.

"The Board remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring stability, continuity, and continued progress through strong leadership," the district said in an overnight statement. "Our focus remains unchanged: providing every student with a high-quality education, supporting our dedicated workforce, and maintaining the trust of the communities we serve."

FBI agents searched Carvalho’s home and office on February 25. A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency had a court-authorized warrant, but declined to provide additional details.

Within days of the search, LAUSD’s board voted unanimously to place Carvalho on paid administrative leave “pending investigation” and appoint longtime district administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent.

The district did not respond to LAist’s questions about whether the “investigation” referenced is federal or internal. The L.A. searches are linked to a search of a Florida home associated with the company LAUSD contracted with to create a short-lived AI tool. Carvalho declared his innocence in a March statement and expressed a desire to return to his job.

What's next?

LAUSD’s superintendent is responsible for crafting a strategy for the education of nearly 400,000 students. The country’s second largest school district is confronting declining enrollment, the likelihood of further job cuts and fewer resources for high-needs schools.

Chait remains acting superintendent, but the board is expected to take up a discussion of the district’s leadership at a meeting this Wednesday. The status of the federal investigation into Carvalho is unclear.

In Carvalho's absence, Chait has been responsible for negotiations with the district's labor unions — ultimately avoiding a massive strike by teachers, principals and staff — as well as a significant reduction-in-force plan. Still, in the past several decades, LAUSD has not chosen an interim superintendent to keep the role permanently.

This is a developing story. Senior editor Ross Brenneman contributed to this story.

Heavy Manners Library, a beloved multipurpose event space on Alvarado Street, is hitting a big milestone. The organization, which hosts classes, music gigs and art exhibits, has outgrown its current location.

Defying the fate that has befallen many small operations in rapidly changing neighborhoods, Heavy Manners is staying in Echo Park.

Yulia Cymbura, head librarian at Heavy Manners Library.

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Book by book

Co-founder Matthew James-Wilson came up with the idea for the space while doing research for a book he wanted to write about the evolution of art in the internet age. During the process, he had an epiphany.

Why write just one book when you can provide access to hundreds of them? Why not start a library that doubles as an art space too?

“ You could imagine a gallery show happening in a library, or you could imagine a poetry reading happening in a library,” said James-Wilson.

An illustration by artist Patrick Kyle.

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Dañiel Martinez

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Mixed media collages from artist Patrick Kyle's "How To Be Mean" exhibit.

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The name “Heavy Manners,” James-Wilson said, pays homage to a concept in reggae music that goes back to '70s deejay Prince Far I’s album Under Heavy Manners.

“ Sort of in reference to British colonial culture imposing this etiquette, or heavy manners, on Jamaican culture,” said James-Wilson.

Heavy Manners was just a couple of shelves when it opened in 2021, but through donations by artists and community members, its stacks grew.

The library has hosted more than 1,000 events, from drawing and sewing lessons to live music shows.

A room in Heavy Manners Library where events and workshops are held.

Interior of Heavy Manners.

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A small stage where events are held.

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“The space has taught me, as long as you can keep the calendar full and you can get things that people are excited about, people will share it with more people,” James-Wilson said.

Keep the calendar full

Carly Jean Andrews has been teaching nude figure drawing at Heavy Manners since 2023.

“Yeah, you have all the knowledge in the world on the internet, but it's so much more useful to just come here and have it be really literal,” Andrews said.

Carly Jean Andrews and Bijou Karman, instructors at Heavy Manners, posing in front of one of an art show.

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Bijou Karman teaches clothed figure drawing classes and has published zines and books of her fashion drawings through Heavy Manners.

“Today, I was here hand-assembling one of the books, and Carly was very kindly helping me assemble. It's a very community-oriented space where you actually meet people and learn new things,” said Karman.

Bijou Karman's recent art book "Images De Mode" is displayed near the entrance of the library.

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Changes on the block

Heavy Manners has been looking for more room to grow its library and event offerings.

The dream was to stay in the area and keep its relationship to Echo Park, despite the changes to the neighborhood, starting with the very block where Heavy Manners sits.

A book nook with a bench and a view of the outside street.

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The nearly century-old restaurant Taix is being demolished, while Silverlake Flea, which ran out of the French Bistro’s parking lot, has moved to Atwater Village.

“ It's a construction site that may be ongoing for a long time. You can sort of feel the sense of change happening, just on our block in general,” said James-Wilson.

Luckily, James-Wilson saw a nearby building on Sunset within Heavy Manners' budget and went for it. Their new home, about 400 feet away from the current location, is bigger and more wheelchair accessible. It also has an outdoor area that employees want to convert into a garden, or use for nature-oriented workshops.

Its current space won’t sit vacant though; Whammy Analog Media, a VHS video store expanding from a small backroom to a full-fledged shop, will be taking over.

A shelve with analog media available for check out.

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It takes a village

Recently, Heavy Manners put out a call for volunteers to help move its many books and zines in time for a planned mid-July reopening.

A "Free Zine Library" inside the space.

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“Because it's really close by, I'm kinda hoping to have just sort of a parade of people each carrying a box across the street,” said James-Wilson. “It takes a village to foster something like this, that is not lost on me.”

Various "Heavy Manners Library" prints.

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