Attorney Maggie Arutyunyan volunteers for the Center for Truth and Justice, a nonprofit that works to document human rights abuses in Nagorno-Karabakh.
(Leslie Berestein Rojas
/
LAist )
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Pop quiz: What region in the nation is home to the largest population of Armenian Americans outside of Armenia itself?
SoCal Armenians try to help those abroad
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If you guessed Los Angeles County, you’d be right. L.A. County is home to more than 200,000 people of Armenian descent. The culture and legacy is so strong here that April is Armenian History Month. Many Armenians reside in Glendale or in Little Armenia, a neighborhood in East Hollywood. Their history and heritage is one rife with connections to neighboring countries, genocide and displacement. They live with a perpetual search for identity among intergenerational communities.
Right now, there’s a tension born from the latest development between Armenia and neighboring Azerbaijan. The two countries have been in conflict with each other for more than a century, having fought two wars over a region called Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh.
There’s currently a blockade that has stopped people living in the region from getting food and other supplies.
Armenians in L.A. want to help. My colleague Leslie Berestein Rojas wrote about the history of conflict as well as how various groups in L.A., like the Armenian National Committee, the Center of Truth and Justice and USC’s Armenian Students’ Association, are working to make changes for people in the region.
As always, stay happy and healthy, folks. There’s more news below — just keep reading.
ICYMI: Here’s the latest on the Writers Guild of America strike. The MTV Movie and TV Awards, Showtime’s Yellowjackets and ABC’s Abbott Elementary are some of the shows that have been recently affected.
If you Googled at all on Friday, you probably noticed a doodle of Chinese American photographer Corky Lee, but how much do you really know about his influence? My colleague Josie Huang chatted with some fourth graders who were learning about the influential photographer who captured important moments in American history.
The California Reparations Task Force voted on its final proposal Saturday, recommending the state issue a formal apology and provide potentially billions of dollars to descendents of enslaved African Americans in the U.S. It now goes to the legislature. (Los Angeles Times)
NPR’s Nathan Rott and Claire Harbage report on what we can expect from California’s melting snowpack. Officials are worried that flooding could be on the horizon.
Nationwide, young people have been taking more trips to the ER for mental health-related emergencies. According to a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, ER visits by those between the ages of 6-24 have approximately doubled. But there’s not enough mental health clinicians to help them.
Paul Bunyan, lowriders, and turkey legs. Do you know what those mean? It’s time for the L.A. County Fair. Read my colleague Jessica Ogilvie’s rundown of what you can expect this month at the fair.
The World Health Organization lifted the global public health emergency for COVID-19 last Friday and the U.S. will do the same this week. My colleague Jackie Fortiér has more information about where things are with COVID-19 locally.
Dr. Kimberly Shriner, an infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital, was a guest on LAist’s AirTalk to talk about the development of a vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV, for adults 60 and older. Read more about what we know from the trials, when it will be ready for children and what the next steps will be here.
Tonight, check out Tom Kitt & Friends at The Bourbon Room. Learn about the legacy of Carl Laemmle Jr., The Man Behind the Monsters at the Hollywood Heritage Museum on Thursday. Attend an ALOUD conversation between best-selling author David Ambroz and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on how he survived homelessness and foster care at the Central Library, which is also on Thursday. Check out this week’s list of events and more here.
*At LAist we will always bring you the news freely, but occasionally we do include links to other publications that may be behind a paywall. Thank you for understanding!
Wait! One More Thing...
The Top Three Tea-Sipping Trends
King Charles III and Queen Camilla, centre, wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the rest of the Royal family after their coronation.
THREE — United Kingdom royalty updates both IRL and in a fairy tale
When it comes to the United Kingdom’s sense of royalty and pageantry, I much prefer stories about young queens named Charlotte on Netflix as opposed to anything in real life. But we all know real life can be just as juicy as fictional dramas. This weekend, Britain crowned its new monarch: King Charles. His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was crowned 70 years ago.
TWO — The writers strike impacts a big budget Marvel Studios movie and a Netflix hit show
Over the weekend, there was more fallout from the writers strike. On Saturday, the Duffer Brothers tweeted that production on Netflix’s Stranger Things could not be possible with the ongoing strike. Also, Marvel Studios has shut down preproduction of the Blade reboot, starring Mahershala Ali. Studio officials said they will restart production once the strike ends.
But at least the writers are trying to make the most of their time on the picket line. A mixer for single scribes in being planned for Wednesday evening near Universal Studios.
ONE — Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors game
I’m sure there are probably some divided California households during these NBA playoffs. The Lakers defeated the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal series on Saturday, giving them the 2-1 lead. That was just after the Warriors blew them off the court. Anthony Davis played with the heat, bouncing back with 25 points and 13 boards. Game 4 is tonight in our own backyard at Crypto.
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