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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Feelings about how Israel should respond are complex in L.A.’s liberal-leaning Jewish community. Progressives are struggling to reconcile their values with outrage and grief, and with a sense of abandonment by the greater left. -
Local temples, mosques, and nonprofits have been calling for donations to help Israelis and Palestinians who’ve been injured and displaced.
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A new fictional play from Company of Angels draws from the stories of Black Angelenos who settled and thrived in Boyle Heights long ago.
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The documentary "American Homeboy" from film newcomer Brandon Loran Maxwell offers deep insider perspectives on pachuco and cholo culture, whose history is intertwined with L.A.
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Some have called it the “hot labor summer.” Workers around L.A. ranging from TV script writers to hotel housekeepers have been on strike, demanding better pay and working conditions. Why here, and why now?
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The L.A. City Council has directed transportation officials to look into a possible ban on tour buses on hillside streets near the iconic sign, citing safety concerns.
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LA fans have been shelling out NLF-worthy fees to see Sunday’s LAFC game against Inter Miami. But some wonder if Miami’s newly-signed superstar Lionel Messi will play.
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L.A. County prosecutors say David Bloom scammed nine people out of nearly $250,000. Bloom, a twice-convicted con man known in the ‘80s as the “Wall Street Whiz Kid,” allegedly trolled for victims in a Hollywood apartment building and local bars.
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You think it’s hot outside? Imagine being inside a steaming hot food truck, stove blazing, when the mercury hits triple digits. Here’s how some local food truck vendors survive days like these.
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Standard homeowner policies will cover basic wind and rain damage, but not if it’s due to flooding or mudflows — unless a recent wildfire is to blame.
