Category: Multimedia

A lens on their young lives

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For months, Venice Arts teamed with ten youths between the ages of 13 and 18 to document their lives through photography in the downtown Garment District. The photographers–recruited at St. Francis Center, a service agency for the homeless and near homeless–are primarily the children of garment workers and day laborers, living in some of Los Angeles’ most impoverished neighborhoods. Amid the hype over downtown’s revitalization, the voices of such young people are rarely heard. This project tells pieces of their stories. (Venice Arts receives funding from the Third District and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission).

Local flavor blossoms at farmers’ markets

What’s fresh and green and fun all over? Farmers’ markets, of course—and the 3rd District is bursting with them. No longer just a place to find the makings for a locally-grown dinner, a thriving market is now a scene unto itself, complete with music, chatting, sampling, strolling and world-class people-watching.

Photos of Hollywood Farmers’ Market by Tali Stolzenberg-Myers

A virtual ridealong with the food cops

Inspectors with Los Angeles County’s street vending compliance program encounter a stomach-churning array of unsafe food preparation practices as they work with law enforcement to conduct regular raids across the region. These photos provided by the Department of Public Health offer a glimpse of what the inspectors come across, from illicit hot dog carts and unlicensed taquerias to raw meat and seemingly innocent fruit being stored at unhealthily warm temperatures. As the county moves forward with a proposal to issue letter grades to law-abiding mobile food vendors, its war on the outlaws continues unabated.

Topanga library

On average, Topanga residents carry around four or five library cards. Soon, they’ll need just one, thanks to the long-awaited construction of the Topanga Library. Scheduled for completion in the summer of 2010, the library is expected to be one of the most heavily used in the L.A. County library system. The $12-million project, funded through the Third District office of Supervisor Yaroslavsky, will include a 40,000 volume library, community meeting room, teen homework center and artwork by Topanga locals. The structure also will meet the latest in green-building standards. Ground was broken in 2008.

Tujunga wash greenway and stream restoration project

The barren concrete channel has been transformed. Native plants and trees are thriving. Water that once flowed into a flood control channel has now been diverted into a meandering stream that feeds an aquifer and supplies drinking water. Walking paths and bike trails line the restored wash between Vanowen and Oxnard streets in the Valley. This $7-million project—a blend of conservation and recreation—is a model for revitalization efforts all along the L.A. River.

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