Leslie Berestein Rojas
My focus is on our coverage of L.A.’s communities of color and immigrant diasporas. Before this, I spent 10 years covering immigrant communities for KPCC.
When I was a kid, my family left Cuba and landed in Huntington Park. I grew up there, speaking Spanish at home and steeped in Southeast L.A.’s beautiful Latinidad. I love telling the stories of L.A. and its people. Now, I get to help shape those stories and work with talented reporters to hone their craft.
I’ve also covered immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border, reported stories in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and done lots more for large newspapers and national magazines.
Among the things I love about L.A.: family, food from everywhere, signs in dozens of languages, the smells of chaparral and dusty freeways, the downtown skyline as you cross a bridge from the east. Mostly, I love that it’s home.
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Three decades later, people who live and work around the intersection say the area is still beset by disinvestment and neglect. -
As the Armenian community gets set to mark the 107th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a new museum exploring the Armenian American experience is under construction in Glendale.
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A 2020 law made taxpayers who file with an ITIN, many of them undocumented workers, eligible for certain low-income California tax credits. But you need to file your state tax return to benefit. Anti-poverty advocates have been doing outreach ahead of tax day.
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L.A. County dropped its indoor mask requirement last month. While COVID-19 cases are increasing, the county’s health chief says there’s no need to panic.
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The plan includes increasing Bureau of Sanitation staff and curbing illegal dumping with deterrents like fines and cameras.
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In Southern California’s tight rental market, resettlement agencies are struggling to find permanent, affordable housing for Afghans.
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There’s no refugee program in place yet for Ukrainians. A few have made it to L.A. with visas, while others seek humanitarian parole at the border.
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Last week’s announcement that the U.S. will accept up to 100,000 displaced Ukrainians encouraged local Ukrainians hoping to bring loved ones to L.A. — but they’re still waiting for details on how the effort will work.
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The president said the U.S. will welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians displaced by the war, but the State Department has not yet figured out how that will work.
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One Ukrainian Angeleno describes how volunteers are pushing back online against the war and Russia’s blackout of independent media.
