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⭐ Boyle Heights Beat is an Online Journalism Awards Finalist!
Boyle Heights Beat is a finalist for the Online Journalism Awards’s Gather Award in Community-Centered Journalism. When immigration raids began disrupting daily life in Boyle Heights last year, the Beat documented neighbors forming rapid response networks, mobilized youth reporters to cover school walkouts, corrected misinformation, and shared community resources, leading to real impacts like new LAUSD Dream Center investments for students and added voting locations. The LA Local is proud of Boyle Heights Beat’s commitment to community, a model we’re expanding across LA County. Learn more about this achievement. |
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Celebrating our Youth Journalists
This summer, 50 high school students from across LA joined us for workshops and a summer intensive opportunity where they got to build their skills as growing community journalists. This experience culminated in interviews with Inglewood Unified School District Board member Ernesto Castillo and Koreatown Tenants Union organizer Fernando Isai. Read their stories below. |
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We’re also getting ready to welcome our next cohort of youth journalists, representing 50 students from across our coverage areas. They’ll spend the next year engaging with local residents, gaining interview skills, building their confidence, and strengthening their storytelling abilities to uplift community stories. Our youth journalists are reporters and changemakers, and we’re grateful to see their work honored. Last month, they were awarded the Youth Civic Action award by GPSN, an LA-based organization that works to improve public education and student opportunities. Join us in applauding the leadership of our youth reporters. And hear from two of our mentors, Carol Martinez and Isaac Vargas, about how youth journalism strengthens communities below. |
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Farewell to Our Summer Interns
Nine interns joined us this summer season and they quickly got to work connecting with community, supporting our social media efforts, and contributing critical stories. From covering the Lineage warehouse fire to uplifting neighborhood heroes, our summer interns were an integral part of getting you the news you know and love from The LA Local. Find highlights of their work below. |
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Get Connected on Our Website
LA Connected is now on our website. You can read up on past versions of this newsletter and other behind-the-scenes insights from our staff, like the ones below. |
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Powering Civic Action with LA Documenters
We’re heartened to see so many residents stepping up to improve transparency across LA County. This summer, 106 people joined us for virtual and in-person trainings for our LA Documenters program, a one-of-a-kind experience where we pay everyday neighbors to attend and document public government meetings. Their findings yield stories that keep others informed, expose challenges and opportunities in local governance, and hold leaders accountable. They also stand with community in moments of crisis–11 of our Documenters distributed over 400 informational flyers across Boyle Heights and East LA during the recent Lineage warehouse fire. |
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"The highlight of my Documenters experience has been learning more about the procedures behind city and local decisions. It feels like a privilege to be able to witness a meeting and share that information with others in one way or another."
– Marylou Juarez, LA Documenter |
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With 289 people trained and 190 public meetings covered, The LA Local is excited to grow this program–including in Long Beach—to turn civic participation into public service journalism. Stay tuned later this month to learn how you help this program grow. |
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Strengthening Black Journalism |
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Editor Amir Vera and Reporter LaMonica Peters represented The LA Local at the National Association of Black Journalists conference in Georgia. Across the nation, fellow journalists are learning from our Inglewood & South LA team and their approach to building trust, engaging with local residents, business owners, and youth to provide valuable community centered news. |
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Boyle Heights Beat at Report for America |
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Our Boyle Heights Beat reporter Alejandra Molina joined 200 Report for America corps members for their 2026 National Gathering in New Orleans, where she presented on the Beat’s award-nominated immigration coverage. Participants shared their different approaches in protecting sources and covering the impact of ICE raids. |
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