Recent Streetsblog LA posts about South LA

In an effort to show how transportation, open space, planning and other issues impact the health and character of a community, Streetsblog and The California Endowment teamed to bring Streetsblog’s coverage to a hyper-local level in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles. Sahra Sulaiman is the Communities Editor for Streetsblog Los Angeles and is leading our coverage efforts in these communities. This page serves as a place to read Sahra’s and all of Streetsblog’s coverage of issues in South L.A. Contact Sahra at sahra[at]streetsblog.org or on twitter: @sahrasulaiman.

Let There Be Light: Operation Firefly Lands in South L.A.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 14, 2012 | 6 Comments

I don’t know about you, but I feel naked riding a bike at night without lights. On the few occasions I have found myself out later than expected or sporting dead batteries, images of the myriad unpleasant ways in which I was sure I was going to die played in my head the whole way […]

Taking a Bike Tour of Watts, with a Team of L.A. City Planners

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 13, 2012 | 15 Comments

The young men watched the cyclists ride their way past the Watts Towers and post up at the corner of Graham Street. Puzzled, they pulled me aside and asked what was going on. What was the occasion? I had to laugh. “You want to know what all these white people are doing in your neighborhood, […]

When a Door Closes, a Window Always Opens…Because Someone Will Saw Through the Fence

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 7, 2012 | 11 Comments

The South Los Angeles Wetlands Park located at 54th and Avalon is having a rough go of it these days. Earlier this year, officials had to drain it in order to replace the leaking ceramic basin with plastic liners. It remained dry as a bone until the recent drizzling rains. But those have left it […]

Unsolved Hit-and-Runs Leave Families in Painful Limbo

By Sahra Sulaiman | Dec 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

If you’ve ever been the victim of a random act of violence, you know the deep anger and sadness it can inspire in a person. How it can make you question what you think you know about people. And how vulnerable it can leave you feeling. For hit-and-run victims and/or their families, the wounds of […]

What a Difference a Year (and a Union) Makes: An Update on the Unionization of Carwasheros

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 30, 2012 | 8 Comments

Earlier this year, workers at three Los Angeles carwashes were successful in unionizing. When I interviewed some of the workers from Vermont Car Wash at the time, they were pleased with the turn of events, but skeptical. Their success had been two years in the making and it had been stressful on them and their […]

When You and I Collide…We Probably Won’t Report It.

By Sahra Sulaiman | Nov 28, 2012 | 4 Comments

“Shut up, bitch!” the injured African-American cyclist snapped at the Latina woman on her phone sitting next to him. “You talk too much!” “Hey!” she protested, giving him a dirty look. He shifted his leg, grimaced in pain, and let out a big sigh. The Latino gentleman hovering over the cyclist and I looked at […]

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