Last year, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez visited a high school English class and gave the students a surprising writing exercise.

Off-Ramp host John Rabe visits Gracie Barra, a jiu-jitsu center in East Pasadena that teaches kids self-defense skills, but – more importantly – teaches them self-respect.

Marshelle Mills is a mother of three. Her husband works for LAUSD and — until recently — she worked in child development. She's been unemployed for some time, and she's even gotten a few job offers — offers that she says she was forced to decline.

To celebrate #ColumboDay, here's John Rabe's conversation with William Link, co-creator of the GOOD lieutenant, "Columbo."

Off-Ramp host John Rabe talks with Gail Herndon and Brenda Goldstein, who tried dozens of ethnic spas across L.A. for their new guidebook, "The Spa Less Traveled."

John talks with international music superstar Tom Jones about his new album, "24 Hours," and about being one of the best pop singers ever...for forty years.

LA County continues to struggle with deficit issues. With cuts left and right, one thing they're not getting rid of is the giant pair of ribbon cutting scissors that they hold near and dear. They have special handlers. And they are stored in special places. Kevin Ferguson--Off-Ramp's Producer--spent the day with one of those pairs from the warehouse to the ribbon cutting and back again.

If you’re one of the ball hawks at Dodger Stadium, every game is only about baseball…or baseballs. Ball hawks try to grab as many baseballs as they can.

When you're driving down Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles, look for the huge fiberglass rooster sitting on a roof. It's the Al-Salaam Polleria. It's a live-poultry shop that sells halal chickens slaughtered according to Muslim dietary laws. What's a halal chicken shop doing in a mostly Latino neighborhood? Sabiha Khan reports for Off-Ramp.