Kristopher Fortin
Streetsblog California contributor, covering news in Orange County.
Recent Posts
Don’t Believe the Flyers, April CicLAvia Doesn’t Extend to Mariachi Plaza
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So, the Eastside CicLAvia re-route is finally happening this April . . . or so it would seem on some of its flyers. The route shown on CicLAvia’s printed flyers being distributed in the Eastside marks a route going north on Boyle Avenue toward Mariachi Plaza, a small spur off the 10.5 mile route from […]
Lean On Me: Little Use Found For Lean Bars at Boyle Heights Bus Stops
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Ever wondered what those waist-high bars at the bus stop at corners on Soto Street and Cesar Chavez Avenue are? You’re not alone. But, according to LADOT, I have the answer: you are supposed to lean on them. Los Angeles Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transit Services pursued Call for Project funding from the City […]
Libros Schmibros Lending Library and Bookshop Moves to Mariachi Plaza
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After two years at the corner of 1st Street and Cummings Street, Libros Schmibros Lending Library and Bookshop opened Wednesday at its new location on Mariachi Plaza, right on top of the Metro Gold Line Station. The addition of Libros Schmibros with the already existing businesses at Mariachi Plaza has made that area one of […]
Your Coverage of the L.A. Marathon Crash Ride(s)
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[View the story “Los Angeles Marathon Crash Ride” on Storify]
Too Many Liquor Stores: Boyle Heights’ High Frequency of Liquor Vendors Causes Concern From Community Groups
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As the Boyle Heights Community continues to grapple with a lack of access to healthy foods, the liquor store business continues to thrive. For those trying to improve the charectar and image of Boyle Heights, this needs to change. Boyle Heights Beat reported last week that the community has more than 31 percent more stores […]
The Women of the Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade
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(This is the second of a two-part series. To read the first part how the Ovarian Psycos started, click here.) Whether they are charras on bikes like Ova Andrea Ramirez says they are, they work hard to make Ovarian-Psyco Bicycle Brigade work. Though the all-female Latina bicycle collective turned out mostly Latina, the group is open to […]
The Ovarian-Psycos Bicycle Brigade Make a Space for Women on the Eastside
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(We’re working on a photo essay tomorrow following up on today’s story. So, come back Monday. D) Two months ago, when 22-year-old Bree’Anna Guzman was murdered in Lincoln Heights, the all-women bike group Ovarian-Pscyos Bicycle Brigade scrapped their previously planned ride to ride instead through the neighborhood to protest the killing. “Whose Streets,” one woman […]
Q&A with Producer from ‘Up in the Air’ Report on Boyle Heights Air Quality (Part 2)
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(This is the second of a two-part interview. To read the first part, click here) Yesterday, Eastside Streetsblog published the first of two parts of an interview with KCET’s SoCal Connected Associate Producer Rocio Zamora on her elaborating on her story about Boyle Heights air quality. In this second part, Zamora talks about stories that didn’t […]
Q&A with Producer from ‘Up in the Air’ Report on Boyle Heights Air Quality (Part 1)
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(Part II coming tomorrow…) Being surrounded by three major freeways in Los Angeles, and residences living practically next door to industry, it’s pretty obvious Boyle Heights is not the best place to breathe. A couple weeks ago, KCET’s SoCal Connected aired a story about the air quality in Boyle Heights, showing how closely residents, especially children, […]
AIA Mayoral Candidate Conversations: Kevin James
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In the third conversation in AIA’s series with mayoral candidates, Kevin James billed himself as an outsider. James, a former radio host and the sole republican on the LA mayoral ballot, was at his best on Friday night when he was criticizing city council and proposing more power for neighborhood councils. Yet when asked about […]
Transit Rockers It’s Casual to Release Full-Length Album
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If people couldn’t get enough of It’s Casual’s declaration that “Freeways are not so nice,” then no need to wait for Myspace or Youtube pages to load any longer. Boyle Heights based hardcore band It’s Casual will be releasing their full-length album “The New Los Angeles Part I: Through The Eyes Of A Bus Rider” on March 13. […]
Joggers, Doggie Bags and Carnitas: A Stroll Through the Evergreen Jogging Path
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There’s just something about walking around a cemetery that brings people out in droves. I remember when I was seven years old going on walks after school with my tia (aunt) Pat, sister, and cousin around Calgary Cemetery on First Street in East LA. Whether it was being so close to the dead, or trying […]