Sources: Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Pasadena Public Health Department, City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Census Bureau | The New York Times

The unequal toll of the pandemic in NELA’s neighborhoods

By T.A. Hendrickson

“Frankly horrifying.” That’s how Barbara Ferrer, the head of public health in Los Angeles County has described the evidence showing that low-income communities of color have been hit much harder by the pandemic than richer, whiter communities. Check the evidence here.

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A volunteer delivers food and personal hygiene products to unhoused at the Figueroa encampment. | Photo by Audrey Mandelbaum

Sponsored Content: How to help our unhoused neighbors in the Eagle Rock community

By SELAH, Eagle Rock
Our unhoused neighbors in Eagle Rock and Northeast Los Angeles are the most vulnerable members of our community.

A group of volunteers from the neighborhood have come together to provide help and connect our unhoused neighbors to resources using a trauma-informed approach.

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This little bungalow in Highland Park recently sold for $482,000, significantly less than the Redfin estimate.

Here’s what you can get in NELA for under $600K

The median sale price for a home in Northeast Los Angeles recently hit $920,000, with even small Highland Park bungalows like this one selling for over $800,000. But even amid rising prices, it’s possible — not easy, but possible — to find an affordable home.  The following three homes are all fixer-uppers but none of […]

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The Sentinel’s 5th annual charitable giving guide to local nonprofits

Picks from the people who bring you the Boulevard Sentinel The charitable giving season launched on Tuesday, December 1 — “Giving Tuesday” – when nonprofits remind you to donate online at the holidays and spread the word by posting about your donation at #GivingTuesday. There is no shortage of worthy local nonprofits to choose from. […]

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This photo by Leo Phillips of the Cortines School of Visual Arts took first place in the High Res photography competition. | Photo courtesy of CD 1.

Winners announced in high school photography contest to document local impact of COVID-19

By Bill Hendrickson City Councilmember Gil Cedillo has announced the winners in “High Res 2020,” a photography competition that challenged local high school students to portray the impact of COVID-19 on their families, friends, classes and communities. Leo Phillips, a freshman at Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts in downtown L.A., took first place. […]

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Tracking NELA COVID-19 cases and resources

By Matthew Reagan and Jonathan Fierros Current case totals in NELA (updated Dec. 16) The dreaded surge in COVID-19 is upon us.   As of Dec. 16, the cumulative total of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northeast Los Angeles was 6,955. In the last 14 days, 1,763 new cases  have been confirmed in NELA, compared to 1,097 […]

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Yolanda González (above) will have a solo exhibition of her paintings and prints at the Bermudez Projects art gallery in Cypress Park, Nov. 14 to Dec. 26. | Photo by John S. Rabe

Art in NELA now: Where to buy it, view it, create it

Picks from the people who bring you the Boulevard Sentinel Here’s how to experience art in NELA now:  The Bermudez Projects art gallery in Cypress Park is a focal point this holiday season for buying and viewing art.  A major artwork from a major exhibition is on display now in the seating area of Go […]

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The four new owners of Pop-Hop in Highland Park, including Jonathan Hinton (above), are reimagining how the bookstore can best serve the community. | Photo by T.A. Hendrickson

Stories of hope, community and social justice from NELA’s bookstores

By River Lisius
Throughout the pandemic, bookstores in Los Angeles have closed, transitioned to curbside pickup and finally, partially reopened. Despite financial stress and other pandemic-related challenges, the bookstores in and near NELA have continued to serve their communities in troubling times.
Here’s a rundown:
1. Pop-Hop| Highland Park: ‘Knowledge is going to move a revolution’

This July, Pop-Hop on York Boulevard reopened as a nonprofit bookstore, specializing in social justice, community education and the arts.

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NELA Neighborhood Reporting Partnership: The Boulevard Sentinel and The Occidental announce local reporting collaboration

The Boulevard Sentinel is pleased to announce the NELA Neighborhood Reporting Partnership (NELA NRP), a professional collaboration between the Sentinel and the Community News section of The Occidental, the campus newspaper of Occidental College.

NELA NRP represents an investment both in student journalists and in reliable journalism for the communities of NELA.

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Address: 4840 Malta St Neighborhood: Highland Park Sale Price: $1,225,000; Previous Sale Price: $620,000

Three NELA Homes That Were Flipped During the Pandemic

By Jeffery Marino Starting in 2008, in the teeth of the Great Recession, buy-to-sell real estate investment – also known as house flipping – took off in Northeast Los Angeles. Eagle Rock, Highland Park, Glassell Park, Mount Washington and Atwater Village were all transformed by real estate investors snapping up properties at the bottom of […]

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Sonoko Sakai in the “soba room” of her studio in Highland Park | |Philip Cheung; Assistant: Kali Vineburg

Local Food Scene Gains Wide Acclaim

By Mary Lynch
Chefs, restaurants owners and other culinary artists from NELA have recently garnered major media attention. Here’s a sample:

Sonoko Sakai, (pictured above) who lives and works in Highland Park, has been named one of the “15 Creative Women for Our Time” by T: The New York Times Style magazine for her groundbreaking cookbooks and masterful classes on Japanese cooking.
Read more about Sakai and four other NELA standouts here.

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Entrance to Scholl Canyon dump by Figueroa St in Los Angles. Photo by T. A. Hendrickson

Eagle Rock in Harm’s Way from Scholl Canyon Biogas Project, New Report Shows

By Bill Hendrickson
Unfortunately, the path forward to assert Eagle Rock’s interest in what happens at Scholl Canyon is fraught. Residents and environmentalists in Eagle Rock have generally worked through their City Council District 14 office to pressure and influence Glendale on Scholl Canyon issues. But with Eagle Rock’s city councilperson, José Huizar, under arrest on federal corruption charges, Council District 14 is not in a position to mount a firm response to the DEIR. 

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At Scoops ice cream on York Boulevard in Highland Park, owner Tai Kim says that his ailing business will suffer even more without an influx of students this fall from Occidental College | Photo by Matthew Reagan

Local Businesses Struggle to Hang On As Occidental College Closes for the Fall

By Matthew Reagan
Businesses in Northeast Los Angeles, already battered by the pandemic and recession, took another one-two punch in July. The blows have called their survival into question.  Matthew Reagan spoke with a few of the businesses on York and Eagle Rock Boulvards. He reports on the thoughts of those local storeowners in this edition of the Boulevard Sentinel.

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Your walk becomes a workout – and your reward is this beautiful view – when you ascend the 196 steps of the Eldred Street stairs in Highland Park. | Photo by T.A. Hendrickson

10 Ways to Turn a Walk into an Adventure

Picks from the people who bring you the Boulevard Sentinel If you have been taking walks to stay fit and alleviate boredom during the pandemic – or if you haven’t been walking but need to get moving – here are 10 ways in or near Northeast L.A. to turn a walk into an excursion or […]

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THE INITIAL SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MEETING

MEETING LINKS for Tuesday, August 25

VIA ZOOM: Join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device: Please click this URL to join: https://zoom.us/j/95364965067
VIA PHONE: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799 or 833 548 0282 (Toll Free) or 877 853 5257 (Toll Free) or 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or 833 548 0276 (Toll Free) Webinar ID: 953 6496 5067

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If found guilty as charged, José Huizar could spend the rest of his life in prison | Photo Los Angeles Downtown News

Mr. Huizar, How Do You Plead?

By T.A. Hendrickson    José Huizar is scheduled to enter his plea to federal corruption charges on Monday, August 3 at 11:30 a.m. at the Edward R. Roybal federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Huizar, the L.A.  City Councilmember for Council District 14, is expected to appear via videoconference.    Huizar, 51, stands accused of running a criminal enterprise from his perch at City Hall, enriching […]

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Katherine “Kaye” Marie Beckham

Remembering: Kaye Beckham, 1942-2020

Katherine “Kaye” Marie Beckham – loving wife, mother, nana, great-grandmother, daughter, sister – and pillar of the Eagle Rock community, died on Sunday, July 19. She was 78. Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1942, the daughter of Michael and Josephine Stech, Kaye was nine years old when her family moved to Eagle Rock. The Steches […]

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“Buy Local” sweepstakes winner Pete Jimenez (center) with $50 Barcade gift certificate, compliments of the Boulevard Sentinel. Local journalists Bill and T. A. Hendrickson celebrated with Jimenez.

Three Winners Chosen in Local Sweepstakes

By T. A. Hendrickson
Pete Jimenez, a lifelong resident of Highland Park, and two Eagle Rock residents – Jane Demian and Ethan Metcalfe – are the winners in the Boulevard Sentinel’s “Buy Local” sweepstakes.

The Sentinel awarded each winner a $50 gift certificate to the merchant of their choosing from among the 21 merchants who participated in the sweepstakes.

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Alexandra Noel, "Can you bring everything with you?", 2019 Oil and enamel on panel. 8 ¼ x 10 ¼ in. (21 x 26 cm). Courtesy of the artist and Bodega, New York

Major Exhibition Featuring NELA Artists to Open in the Fall

By T. A. Hendrickson Made in L.A. 2020 has been delayed but not waylaid. The high-profile exhibition of Los Angeles-based artists, originally scheduled for this summer, is now set to run from early September through January 3. This is great news for the 30 artists in the show, a group that includes five artists from […]

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Governor Newsom announcing renewed closures on July 1 | Photo courtesy of esq.com

The Coronavirus in NELA: An Update

By T. A. Hendrickson
It’s summer and Northeast Los Angeles – like the rest of the city, state and much of the nation – is in the grip of a worsening coronavirus pandemic.
On July 1, Governor Newsom announced a three-week halt to indoor visits to restaurants, wineries, entertainment centers, card rooms, museums, zoos and movie theaters. Bars were closed by an earlier order.
Elected and public health officials are also imploring residents to stay at home as much as possible, wear masks, keep distance and refrain from parties and private gatherings.
Here’s an overview of the local situation:

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U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Nicolas T Hanna discusses the charges against L.A. City Councilmember Jose Huizar

U.S. Attorney and FBI Detail the Charges Against L.A. City Councilmember Jose Huizar

From the horses’ mouths: We post here the video of the U.S. Attorney and FBI discussing the arrest of L.A. City Councilmember Jose Huizar.

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