Christine Pelisek

Homeless Blessed

Christine Pelisek
The money-strapped Hollywood Presbyterian Church has sold an apartment building to the city that it hopes to turn into 50 units of permanent housing for the homeless. Some residents object to the deal and say the area is already inundated with social services. The Community Redevelopment Agency paid $5.8 million......
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Doping Voters

Christine Pelisek
Los Angeles resident Margaret Sowma is in her mid-70s and trying to survive on a fixed income. It’s not easy juggling her prescription drug bills. “I have no benefits at all,” says the former seamstress, who spent 15 years making ladies’ suits and coats for a downtown factory that offered......

Brent Shapiro, 1980–2005

Christine Pelisek
The 24-year old son of renowned defense attorney Robert Shapiro died Monday of an apparent drug overdose, authorities said. Brent Edward Shapiro, a USC student on the dean’s list, had been partying with friends at a residence near the Hollywood Bowl after Saturday’s USC-Arizona football game. He became ill and......

Human Tracks

Christine Pelisek
Photo by Slobodan DimitrovTwo days after digging began in Boyle Heights for the Eastside expansion of the Gold Line, workers made an unusual find. They came upon pieces of amputated arms and legs and even a coffin containing human remains. The project came to a halt that June day and......

The World Chokes

Christine Pelisek
From the coal-powered factories that contributed to the deaths of thousands in London in the 1950s to the smog caused by forest fires in Indonesia, killer air pollution has played a major role in the planet’s history. Here are some of the world’s worst smog disasters.Belgium On February 12, 1930,......

Outing Polluters

Christine Pelisek
Oil refineries, grocery stores and lackadaisical enforcement have helped make L.A. the smog capital of the West. Here are just some of the egregious violators and the penalties incurred for violating our air space. AES Alamitos Settlement: $17 million Violation: In 2000, the gargantuan power plant was penalized for allowing......
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How Not to Manage a Crisis — The Timeline

Christine Pelisek
Art by emek@emek.net2001 Federal Emergency Management Agency issues a report stating that a hurricane hitting New Orleans is one of the three most likely U.S. disasters — after a terrorist attack on New York City and an earthquake in San Francisco. That same year, the Bush administration slashes federal funding......

Priceless Sunset: No $10 Tickets

Christine Pelisek
LAPD officers dropped by last weekend’s Sunset Junction Street Fair, and, as in past years, they didn’t like what they saw: staffers charging $10 admission. The Silver Lake bash is a city-sponsored event on a public street and organizers can’t charge people to get in or sell advance tickets. Donations......
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Unwinding at 'The Stretch'

Christine Pelisek
The one-block stretch along Franklin Avenue between North Bronson Avenue and Tamarind is such a bustling little mecca of urban attractions, it’s earned itself the nickname of... “The Stretch.” Interspersed between funky shops like the Eastern-flavored Espiritu de Vida, the old-school Counterpoint Records & Books and the indispensable Daily Planet......

LAPD's Half-Open Book

Christine Pelisek
Two days after the July 10 fatal shooting of Suzie Lopez and her 35-year-old car-dealer father Jose Raul Peña, a reporter asked Police Chief William Bratton why a security hold had been placed on the autopsy reports. Surprised, Bratton said he would look into the matter. He did. The next......