Hi, friend. I’m Brian De Los Santos, the new editor of LAist, but L.A. has always been home.
I’ve spent hot summers in the 818, lived in K-Town where a waft of delicious food is constant and grew up in Mid City in the 1990s, at a time when racial tensions were high. When people ask me why I love L.A., my answer is simple: It’s not the beautiful mountains or Hollywood, it’s the communities and their stories that make living here a rich experience.
But we know it isn’t easy living in this metropolis. There’s racial injustice, high rents, food deserts, thousands experiencing homelessness and many more issues. LAist aims to guide residents — native Angelenos and newcomers — through your everyday questions so you can live an informed, more connected life.
L.A., we’re your help desk. We report to you what's happening in your community because we also live in your neighborhoods. Our mission is to strengthen communities with local reporting that matters, that’s reliable and reflects your lives and experiences. And we know it won’t be easy to return to normal with IRL activities and much-needed interaction as the pandemic slowly lifts. Our goal is for our reporting to help you through it.
Right now we are asking for your support because you, our reader, are our main source of our funding. This business model keeps us independent, so that you know you can rely on us for trustworthy local journalism with a soul. We are a lean, mean journalism operation that lives to serve you.
We need to hear from you — with your donation, you tell us this kind of local journalism is vital. Without quality local reporting you’ll be stuck with listicles and people on the East Coast telling you what to care about. So many readers use LAist every day to stay informed, but only a few step up with a donation. Will you help us break this trend and support our important work? Without your help, this service will stop existing.
Thank you for your partnership. We quite literally cannot do this without you.
