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What matters to you? Talk to LAist in your neighborhood
LAist’s community engagement team spoke with Altadena residents at Fair Oaks Burger on Jan. 17, 2026.
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Sabrina Sanchez
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LAist
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Talk with us, color with us, or spin our wheel!
Share what’s important to you — we’ll spot your coffee!
These are some examples of what you might hear at an LAist Listens tabling event, where we talk with community members in person about what is top of mind in their community.
LAist is popping up in neighborhoods across SoCal to meet community members in person. We’re listening to your stories and insights and bringing them back to our newsroom to help improve and shape our news coverage. We may show up at a coffee shop, burger spot, flea market, or wherever people create community.
Why are we doing this? Connecting with communities is part of our mission. We always want to be sure our coverage reflects our communities’ perspectives, priorities and lived experiences. It makes our work better and more useful to you.
How it works
LAist has been partnering with local businesses and organizations to host us to talk with community members in person.
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We talked with residents at Café Calle in South Central for Local News Day LA, a pop-up event organized by The LA Local. Neighbors there told LAist about their top issues in the neighborhood and we shared resources on ways they could connect with a journalist.
LAist's community engagement team spoke with South Central residents at Cafe Calle for Local News Day LA on June 27.
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Alejandra Santamaria
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LAist
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We also stopped by Alta Baja Market in Santa Ana several times this spring to speak with community members about the impacts of the immigration raids in Orange County as well as local O.C. elections, nearby development, data centers, parking and more.
Since December 2025, we have been speaking with Altadena and Pasadena residents on the recovery process after the Eaton Fire. We had long conversations at Fair Oaks Burger, offering fries or coffee, sometimes filling out a coloring sheet, and shared resources with residents impacted by the fire. These talks have helped shape our news stories, including the coverage around the one-year anniversary of the fires.
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Norway’s historic World Cup performance has brought together Southern California’s relatively small, but spirited Norwegian community
Where to find LAist next
We’re planning our next stop in Inglewood, and we’re open to other cities or neighborhoods in the future. If you’re a local business or organization who is interested in having us meet and listen to your community, please send an email with your request to engagement@laist.com.
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You can learn more about the community engagement team’s work at LAist.com/community.
Updated June 29, 2026 at 3:52 PM PDT
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If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
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