Walking Runs in My Blood

How My Family Legacy Inspired Me to Save a Special Trail in Apple Valley

You could say that walking runs in my blood: I can’t remember a time when I didn’t take long walks with my dad, though why was a mystery. Recently, I’ve been working to restore and build a trail in Apple Valley that will allow everyone to walk from the flats of downtown up to the cool, beautiful peak above the town.

I was born in Irvine and moved to Apple Valley in the High Desert of the Inland Empire in the year 2000, when I …

By Alexandra Gessesse | October 19, 2016

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An Afternoon Cleaning up North Richmond, and Then—Gunfire

Fulfilling the Promise in This Neighborhood Requires Tenacity, and We Have It

By Tana Montiero | October 19, 2016

It was a Friday morning in July, and Guadalupe, Maria, and Dawn were at Wild Cat Creek in north Richmond, California, clipping and tearing invasive ivy out by its roots. …

Transforming Trash Into Art

How a Riverside Taco Joint Became a Magnet for Community

By Martin Sanchez, as told to Zócalo Public Square | October 19, 2016

I’ve lived in Riverside, and I’ve owned Tio’s Tacos here for over 25 years now. Growing up, I lived in a small town in northern Michoacán Mexico called Sahuayo. I …

The Attack on Pearl Harbor Didn’t Stop the Japanese from Dreaming of Hawaiian Vacations

In Postwar Japan, the Aloha State was—and Still Is—a Longed-For Paradise

By Philip Brasor and Masako Tsubuku | October 6, 2016

In August 1946, a year after Japan surrendered, a musical entitled “Hawaii no Hana” (“Hawaiian Flower”) opened at the Nichigeki Theater in Tokyo’s Ginza district. The city had barely started …

The Journey to Artist Maurizio Cattelan’s Golden Toilet “America” Is Gross, and It’s Great

The Gleaming Potty Art Isn’t Genius, But That Won’t Halt the Curious … Or the Instagram Crowd

By Yxta Maya Murray | October 5, 2016

The Guggenheim guard, a young woman with shoulder-length brown hair and a pretty, round face, said that the wait to see Maurizio Cattelan’s America would be one hour. My husband …

Approaching 80, I Learned to Speak Millennial-ese

In Downtown L.A., I’ve Built a New Life at a Ripe Old Age

By Billie Greer | October 4, 2016

Ready for anything at the age of 78, I sold my home on the edge of Ventura County and moved into a downtown Los Angeles high-rise full of millennials and …

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Do Californians Love Their Houses Too Much?

A Fourth-Generation Homeowner Reconsiders the California Dream

For 100 Years, El Monte Has Celebrated a Blatant Historical Falsehood. Why?

A Southern California City Has a Rich, Multi-Ethnic Past That Its Foundational Myth Erases

The Next Great California Bridge Should Span the High Desert

Infrastructure Linking Palmdale and Victorville Could Boost L.A.—and All of North America

A Priest. A Nun. And Me.

My Parents’ Relationship Has Always Been a Mystery to Me. It Was Also a Miracle.

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