The Brief

This story was originally published by Boyle Heights Beat on May 9, 2024

From dulce de leche and mazapán to cajeta and arroz con leche, you can get your caffeine fix with an Eastside twist at Cafe Niña.

Putting a spin on everyday coffee recipes, the spot on 4th Street in Boyle Heights draws people looking for their daily latte mixed with classic Mexican flavors.

Cafe Niña’s owner, Janet Cerda, is a Boyle Heights native who always dreamed about owning a business in the neighborhood that reflects its uniqueness.

“The reason why I started this business was because of my love for coffee,” said the 32-year-old. “When I was younger I felt coffee used to bring my family together.”

One day, she decided to just go for it. In February 2023, she quit her full-time job to launch her homefront business Cafe Niña, a Mexican-themed coffee cart.

Orders ready to go for customers.

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Carol Martinez

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Cerda recalls her first sip of coffee being from her grandmother Dolores “Lolita” Medina’s cup. Introduced to the world of all things café by her family matriarch, the bond between them is intertwined in every aspect of the business, from the name Cafe Niña to the “Lolita” latte.

“It’s the love inside the latte that brings it [business]. It’s just like when your abuelita makes food for you, you feel the love when you’re eating it. That’s what I think I’m putting into my drinks.” said Cerda.

Sign near the entrance of Cafe Niña on 4th Street.

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Carol Martinez

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Walking up to the house-front business, Cafe Niña welcomes you with Cerda ready to take your order. Customers can choose from a regular menu, with coffee house staples, or the specialty menu, full of ingredients that hold special memories for Cerda’s family.

“Those are my childhood treats that I used to have. For example, the galletas [Marias Gamesa cookies], those I used to have with coffee with my grandma. That’s why I named the latte after her, the ‘Lolita’ latte.” said Cerda.

“The ‘Arroz Con Leche’ [rice pudding] latte, that’s one of the desserts my grandma used to make as well. The mazapanes [marzipan candies], we used to eat them after school and buy them at the liquor store. That’s how I came up with all the flavors [on the menu]. I tried to mix them up with the coffee.” said Cerda.

She offered these blends to her friends to see what they thought at the beginning of her journey.

“I started sharing my drinks with them and then with my family. That's when they were like ‘You should just start something,'" said Cerda.

Janet Cerda, Cafe Niña’s owner, holding up a specialty coffee, the Mazapan Latte.

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Carol Martinez

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From pop-up shop to local favorite

Initially, Cerda was hesitant to start her business.

It took a year of convincing from her close friends and family, after which she took the first step by signing up for a local pop-up market to soft launch the business. She quickly bought all her equipment and got ready for the local 323 Market in East L.A.

A traditional Mexican doll placed in front of Cafe Niña’s set up. It’s a common figure throughout the business and is featured on the logo.

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Carol Martinez

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“It was a great hit, I got a lot of support and when I saw that I thought to myself, ‘You know what, I’m going to keep this going,’” Cerda said. “It’s bringing people together and that’s my main goal… I want to create community.”

Even in the first few weeks after opening when Cerda had only a few customers, she remained optimistic, always content that she at least made a few people happy.

Eventually, she believed, it would all work out.

Today, the 4th Street spot draws in everyone from local regulars to social media onlookers enticed by Cafe Niña’s unique flavors.

Now, with Instagram reels to TikTok posts, the popularity of the business has gone beyond local residents and has been featured everywhere from L.A. Taco to Univision’s Lo Que Somos Podcast and iHeartRadio.

But Cerda’s relationship with her customers and the community is what she values as a part of her business. Knowing that local customers prefer her business over big-name coffee chains, she says it’s not only about her business’s authenticity but also how her drinks are made.

Preparing a few ‘Dulce De Leche’ lattes on the coffee bar.

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Carol Martinez

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“I feel like there’s been a big change. In the beginning, I used to get one or two people a day and I didn’t give up. I was like ‘You know what? I have to be consistent because eventually there’s going to be five [customers]’ and now there’s fifty,” she said.

Adriana Valencia, 16, has supported Cafe Niña since its opening last year. She and her sisters can often be found in line for coffee. She said the uniqueness of selections is what keeps her coming back.

“Besides the environment, what makes her very different is that a lot of the traditional Mexican flavors are turned into drinks, and I think that’s really awesome to see because not a lot of coffee places do that. You see the traditional vanilla and caramel, but seeing ‘Lolita’, and ‘Arroz Con Leche’ [on the menu], it’s really nice to see our culture,” said Valencia, who usually orders a Mazapan latte with oat milk.

At a glance, the business still has the same grab-and-go nature from its first pop-up, but Cerda has been trying to keep clients in the neighborhood for longer to connect, chat and keep coming back. Cerda’s father even built a small patio area for customers to sit and enjoy their coffee.

Outdoor patio and seating area for customers.

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Carol Martinez

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For Cerda, coffee isn’t just something you drink to keep you up. It’s a cultural experience you can enjoy with other people, a gateway to meeting new people and a liquid adding substance (or “way to build on”) to your current relationships.

The space harbors a unique vibe for these conversations, with seasonal decorations, inspiring quotes, fresh flowers in bloom and chances to snap a pic for social media.

Samantha Chavez goes to Cafe Niña weekly. She says that what keeps her returning to this coffee cart is the unique home-front set up and her new favorite latte.

“I’ve never seen anyone sell coffee from their house and now it’s my favorite coffee spot to go to. Each [coffee] is handcrafted on the spot” said the 21-year-old whose favorite drink is the ‘Viva’ latte.

Entrance to Cafe Niña’s with Easter decorations.

On the weekends, Cerda offers pastries on her menu that she buys locally at the panaderia just a few minutes walk from Cafe Niña.

With a board dedicated to highlighting Boyle Heights small businesses posted alongside her cart, Cerda’s love for her community goes beyond serving specialty coffee, as she actively supports fellow Boyle Heights businesses.

Cafe Niña is located at 3264 E. 4th Street. Alternating menus can be found on the coffee shop’s social media pages including Facebook and Instagram.

Some government funding streams for L.A. County’s public health system are drying up, and officials are turning to private philanthropy to fill the gap.

A new privately funded foundation launched Thursday to strengthen public health services after $50 million in federal, state and local funding cuts to the county’s Department of Public Health since early last year.

“It is really a hard day for our community when we have to ask for private donations to fund a public good, but unfortunately, we've lost too much money to not take this important step,” said Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer.

In February, the county’s Public Health Department closed seven clinics, with six remaining open. About half of the patients seen in those clinics are uninsured, according to county officials. The department also cut hundreds of staff positions.

Ferrer is on the board of the new foundation, The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA, which held its first meeting Thursday.

She said the fund will help the county maintain its basic public health infrastructure, including disease prevention, health promotion, environmental health, and emergency response efforts.

Other board members include several health insurance executives, as well as actors Sean Penn and Danny Trejo. Board member Saree Kayne of the R&S Kayne Foundation pledged $150,000 to the fund Thursday. Kayne said she hopes the donation encourages others to give.

The foundation aims to raise $2 million this year.

More cuts expected

L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell said it’s crucial to have an alternative funding stream to protect services for the county's most vulnerable residents.

“We are saving public health,” Mitchell said. “This fund represents a new approach, one that brings together government philanthropy in the private sector to invest in community-based solutions, protect vulnerable populations, and strengthen our public health infrastructure.”

Officials say more public health cuts are coming, through the federal budget law known as the "Big Beautiful Bill," which slashes funding for Medi-Cal.

The county Department of Public Health anticipates losing up to $300 million in revenue over the next three years because of the federal budget bill and other potential funding freezes. Federal funding accounts for almost 50% of the public health budget, according to county officials.

Mitchell also led an effort to put a half-percent county sales tax increase to fund public health on the June ballot.

If approved by voters, that proposal, known as Measure ER, is expected to raise about $1 billion a year for county safety net health services, including about $100 million for the public health department.

Board members

The Fund for Advancing Public Health LA announced its founding board of directors, which includes:

• Dr. Barbara Ferrer, LA County Department of Public Health director
• Debbie I. Chang, Blue Shield of California Foundation CEO
• Sean Penn, actor and co-founder of Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE)
• Martha Santana-Chin, LA Care Health Plan CEO
• Saree Kayne, R&S Kayne Foundation CEO
• Danny Trejo, actor and restaurateur
• Jarrett Barrios, an executive at the American Red Cross
• Dr. Deborah Prothrow-Stith, Charles R. Drew University College of Medicine Dean
• Kristin McCowan, an executive at the Los Angeles Dodgers

The Rose Bowl in Pasadena may be a centenarian, but it’s holding up pretty well as it continues to host events on its way to a starring role in the LA28 Olympics.

But before it can host the soccer final, it needs fixes, especially to the infrastructure serving the bathrooms and drinking fountains. Fears of a toilet backup while in the world’s spotlight led Rep. Laura Friedman to seek federal funds for upgrades. On Thursday she announced she secured just over $1 million.

“Two years from now, athletes around the world are going to compete for gold right where we are standing. This is not the time to find out whether or not these pipes are up to the task,” Friedman said.

The planned work, she added, will lead to improved water flow capacity and water drainage, eliminating the risk of backups and emergency maintenance.

The funds came from the House of Representatives Interior and Environment subcommittee. The fixes, an official said, will be completed by the LA28 Olympics.

The funds, however, are a drop in the bucket when it comes to what’s needed to make needed improvements to the Pasadena venue.

Officials, including (left to right) Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation President Dedan Brozino, Deputy Fire Chief of the City of Pasadena Tim Sell, Congresswoman Laura Friedman, and Rose Bowl Stadium CEO Jens Weiden announced infrastructure funding for the 103-year old Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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“Over the  next 20 years there's about $200 million that we need to put in and that's everything from updating light fixtures to updating gas, water, wastewater lines, etc.,” said Dedan Brozino,  president of the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the nonprofit that supports the Rose Bowl stadium's preservation and enhancement.

Getting venues ready will be expensive

The money is a much-needed win at a time when elected officials in city, county, state and federal offices have been struggling to find the funds to get L.A.-area venues ready for the global Olympic stage in two years.

The entrance to a men's bathroom at the Rose Bowl.

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Adolfo Guzman-Lopez/LAist

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A $360 million proposal to spruce up asphalt in parking lots around Exposition Park won’t be done in time for the Olympics, as originally planned. Meanwhile, just up the street, there’s concern that a $2.6 billion expansion of the L.A. Convention Center, which is hosting Olympic wrestling, fencing and judo in 2028 won’t be ready for the Olympics.

Additionally, to save money, LA28 organizers moved Olympic diving to the Rose Bowl complex last year because it has two Olympic-sized pools, while the Exposition Park complex doesn't and would need expensive upgrades.

Topline:

About the chick: The chick hatched March 14. The zoo opened its Cape vulture enclosure in February 2025 after years of planning to encourage the birds to roost and nest, welcoming a new breeding pair that year. When it grows to be an adult, it’ll have a wingspan of 8 1/2 feet.

About the enclosure: The L.A. Zoo said it spent years developing the vulture habitat, which was designed to mimic the vultures’ natural environment in South Africa and nearby countries. Dominick Dorsa II, the zoo’s director of animal care, said in a statement the successful hatching is “a testament to the design and construction” of the habitat.

How to see the chick: You can’t for the time being. Zoo officials are keeping it away from visitors until the chick matures, though you can still see adult Cape vultures at the zoo’s enclosure.

Though visitors will have to wait until the chick matures to see it in the enclosure, you can still take in the impressive eight and a half foot wingspan of the adult Cape vultures.

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Courtesy Jamie Pham/L.A. Zoo

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What zoo officials are saying: “Welcoming a Cape vulture chick is a thrilling moment for our team and a beacon of hope for African vultures,” the L.A. Zoo’s curator of birds Rose Legato said in a statement. “Vultures are one of nature's most misunderstood marvels, and I cannot wait for our guests to eventually watch this chick grow and learn just how vital they are to our ecosystems.”

About the species: Cape vultures are listed as a vulnerable species due to human activities and encroachment. According to the L.A. Zoo, African vultures are more closely related to eagles and hawks than vultures native to the Americas, like the zoo's California condors that hatched last year.

This story first appeared on The LA Local.

What should have been a celebration for formerly incarcerated youth completing a reentry program at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory (BHAC) last week instead ended with seven students and two staff members detained by the Los Angeles Police Department, according to witnesses. 

Now, nearly a week later, BHAC staff and city officials are demanding answers from the LAPD, with some accusing officers of racial profiling. 

According to the LAPD, officers observed a large group gathered on the corner of Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Mott Street around 4:16 p.m. on March 26. Authorities then requested backup for what they described as “a large group surrounding officers,” LAPD Public Information Officer Tony Im said. 

The group, classified by police as an “aggressive gang group,” consisted of seven 18-year-old students from the BHAC’s Bridge Academy Movement (BAM) program and two BHAC staff members.

The BAM program pays formerly incarcerated youth to complete 200-250 hours in media and visual arts training to prepare them for creative careers. That day, students were set to showcase their work at the BAM program graduation for families and community members. 

Rene Weber, a teaching artist at the BHAC, had been with the students setting up for the ceremony minutes before the incident occurred. 

According to Weber, the students had gone to coffee across the street at Milpa Kitchen as they often did, when staff were alerted that they were being detained. 

Weber said he arrived to find students and a staff member pressed against the wall in handcuffs. 

Video from the scene, taken by a staff member at the BHAC, shows multiple officers surrounding the group. At one point, an officer orders a person to “get on the wall” and displays a stun gun.  

“No, none of that, these are kids right here,” the staff member replies.

Another staff member, Teotl Veliz, recorded a large police response.  

“I counted 12 cop cars, that’s at least 25 cops, and they had a helicopter,” Veliz said. “It was just so comedic, tragically comedic, that it was on their graduation day too.”

Officers established a perimeter with yellow tape along the side of Ashley’s Beauty Salon as local business owners and witnesses gathered around the students. 

“I was just incredibly disappointed in LAPD… because it became so apparent to everybody, all at the same time, that it was racial profiling and nothing else,” Veliz said.

Weber said officers gave shifting explanations for the stop at the scene, including blocking the sidewalk and possible underage vaping. After Weber told the officers that all of the students were 18, they said they would investigate whether the group had any gang affiliation. 

Police have not responded to questions about what led officers to believe that the group was gang-affiliated. 

Weber recalled pleading with the officers to let the group go and explaining to them that they worked across the street. Community members and local business owners also stepped in to vouch for the students. 

“Our job is to help them gain a new perspective on life,” Weber said. “They’re coming out of juvenile detention and they’re turning their lives around. We can do our part in keeping them off the streets and keeping them doing better but what does it mean if they’re going to be profiled and treated exactly the same way?” 

In total, seven 18-year-old students and two staff members were detained. BHAC staff said one student and one staff member were taken to Hollenbeck Community Police Station and released less than two hours later after advocacy from community members and Councilmember Ysabel Jurado.

The incident ultimately resulted in an infraction for smoking a cannabis e-vape on a public sidewalk, according to a photo of the infraction shared with the Beat. LAPD did not provide details about the people taken to Hollenbeck Station or the infraction. 

The graduation ceremony was cancelled that night and is expected to be rescheduled in April. 

“Graduation should be a moment of pride and possibility — not fear,” Jurado said in a statement. “I’m seeking answers about what occurred, and this underscores the need for stronger relationships between law enforcement and community organizations so moments like these are protected, not disrupted.”

Carmelita Ramirez‑Sanchez, the conservatory’s executive director, said she was grateful to the community and Jurado for advocating for the students’ release. Jurado met her at Hollenbeck Station within 20 minutes of being alerted to the incident, she said. 

“They had store owners, señoras, barbers, that ran out and were trying to explain to the police who our kids were,” Ramirez‑Sanchez said. 

Still, she said the incident tarnished what should have been a joyous celebration.

“I imagine that what this does is derail this entire idea that you can be an active participant in your own restorative growth,” she said.