Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

Eighteen thousand people at a sold out Hollywood Bowl welcomed Gustavo Dudamel on Saturday night as the next musical director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Elected officials broke ground Wednesday on a two-mile storm drain project in Long Beach that’s set to give relief to residents who’ve endured up to three-foot floods in recent years.

A Los Angeles-based financial literacy group launched a five-year, $20 million national effort to keep teenagers in school by combining lessons in personal finance and life skills. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

More than 500 University of California at Irvine students and employees gathered for a noontime rally at the campus plaza to protest system-wide budget cuts. The action was part of a day of protests at all U.C. campuses.

At their regular meeting in Long Beach Wednesday, trustees of the California State University moved forward with a request to the state that would restore about $800 million to the system’s budget. Outside that meeting, faculty, staff, and students staged a largely quiet demonstration to protest the half-billion dollars in cuts in effect now. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

Employees at the 85-branch Los Angeles County Library system are in contract talks. Fearful of job cuts, they urged administrators to adopt a more efficient book-buying plan to save money. More on the story from KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.

After eight months and more than 500 gallons of paint, two Los Angeles artists unveiled Friday a mural project that’s reshaped the climate at an 82-year-old middle school. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

USC’s Thornton School of Music launched its 125th birthday party this week. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez says the institution has adapted and thrived in a changing music world.

In recent years, financial problems and sub-par academic performance have plagued one of the oldest charter schools in the Southland. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez reports that independent public school faces a school board vote tonight that will determine its future.

In spite of strong opposition from its powerful teachers’ union, the seven-member Los Angeles Unified school board approved a plan yesterday to hand over control of about one-third of its schools to outside operators. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

A pair of artists has created an exhibit out of the tension in Southern California between its concrete jungles and its wild animals. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.

Over four decades the Los Angeles-based Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund has won notable civil rights cases on behalf of large groups of Latinos. A new president and general counsel takes over tomorrow. He’s the fourth person in as many years to hold that job. Observers say instability in the group’s top position has held back the nation’s oldest and most successful Latino legal defense group during a key moment in Latino civil rights. KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has the story.