Robert Garrova
I cover mental health at a time when L.A. — and the nation — is failing people who live with a serious mental illness. The L.A. County jail system is the de-facto mental health institution for our region, and people who want help with their mental health often can’t get it, even if they can afford it. I’ll work to help Angelenos understand how we got here and what reforms aim to change things. I’ll do this through the stories of people struggling with their own mental health and those trying to get care for a loved one.
My reporting has taken me to the edge of wildfires in California, the White Mountains of New Hampshire, steps away from a robot that’s now exploring Mars, and into the homes of countless Angelenos.
I’ve had many jobs in radio. I used to help produce and direct the flagship show for Marketplace, a daily business and economic news show. I also spent a couple years in the Northeast working as a reporter. I found my love of audio journalism while interning on LAist's (formerly KPCC’s) Off-Ramp in 2013.
I was born and raised in SoCal. I’m most proud when my journalism can help raise the voices of people struggling in this beautiful region stricken by inequality.
-
Additional actions and votes are needed before the measure would make its way to the November ballot. It is fiercely opposed by Sheriff Alex Villanueva. -
It was highly unusual for the DA to charge social workers in a case like this. The courts ruled they could not be held criminally liable for Fernandez's death.
-
Annie Felix used to visit her son Andrew at a facility in Long Beach three times a week. Now she has to stand outside his window in the parking lot and try to talk to him through the glass.
-
It's not just families with loved ones in nursing homes who haven't been able to visit during the pandemic.
-
L.A. County's inspector general demanded the Sheriff's Department hand over evidence in the case.
-
"Shaun King needs to be put down," one person wrote on the private Facebook page for California cops. "Need a sniper," wrote another.
-
Also, no spitting, chewing tobacco or high fives.
-
It’s time to bring attention to these trends, researchers say.
-
"We can no longer afford for the face of suicide to be that of older White men," a leading researcher said.
-
L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar was arrested by the FBI Tuesday on a federal racketeering charge. In Boyle Heights, part of Huizar's Council District 14 and also where he lives, there are mixed reactions.
