News

On the night of her rosary, strong winds knocked out the power at San Fernando Mission Mortuary, leaving the chapel and adjacent cemetery in complete darkness.

As mourners arrived to give their condolences to the family of Cindy Montañez – who died Oct. 21 at the age of 49 – they stepped more quietly and carefully into the sacred space for her viewing, the room lit only by flickering lanterns. 

LOS ANGELES — Exploring the possibilities in STEM is more than a project for 10-year-old Alejandra. It's also an opportunity to learn how to make things, like a light-up plushie, with her hands.

In the San Fernando Valley, the DIY Girls nonprofit has inspired fifth- to 12th-grade girls to consider a career in STEM through after-school programs.

On a Sunday evening as the sky turns a light pink, two cars tipped sideways with a tire raised high in the air, ride side by side down Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Mission Hills. Like dancers leading a procession, behind them follow a line of lowriders each with a unique style reflecting their driver’s individuality. 

This is cruising – a practice that has been criminalized by anti-cruising ordinances since the 1980s across communities throughout California. 

Young Latinas in the Northeast San Fernando Valley are continuing to receive educational support through DIY Girls, a nonprofit organization that provides free science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education to girls and gender-expansive youth.

“When I was an engineer, I was often the only woman in the room, the only Latina in the room, the only person of color in a meeting room. And I wanted to change that,” said Assemblymember Luz Rivas. 

“Inside the Issues” host Amrit Singh speaks with Assembly member Luz Rivas about her bill to establish a heat ranking system in California. 

Spectrum News’ Daniela Pardo follows the battle over notification policies from Sacramento.

La vida y el legado de una angelina de toda la vida, que es “líder nata, pionera y la mujer más joven elegida para servir como concejal de la ciudad de San Fernando”, fueron ensalzados en el piso de la Asamblea Estatal de California el 28 de agosto, cuando la asambleísta Luz Rivas (D-43) honró a una estimada ex legisladora estatal al designar el 19 de enero como el Día de Cindy Montañez.

The multilingual organization El Centro de Amistad received $1 million in funding Friday, Aug. 25, to expand the facility in the City of San Fernando and hire more clinicians who can provide the range of mental health, educational and recreational services the center offers.

Staff and board members of the organization, as well as San Fernando Mayor Celeste Rodriguez, gathered outside of the facility as Assemblymember Luz Rivas presented the large ceremonial check.

It happened at a taco stand in Watts, where an African American woman instigated a violent attack against a street vendor. Before fleeing the scene in a pink Lexus sedan, she hurled profanity, threw a street sign and physically assaulted the vendor for allegedly refusing to serve her, because the woman had reportedly taken tacos from the stand on multiple occasions without paying. 

By the summer of 2024, residents of the forthcoming Corazón del Valle affordable apartments and residents living in surrounding community of Panorama City will have access to a full range of affordable healthcare services thanks to the San Fernando Community Health Center and $2 million in state funding recently secured by Assemblymember Luz Rivas.

California mayors are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to provide $3 billion in annual funding to address homelessness, saying they will not be able to help the unhoused in their communities without a consistent stream of money.

The League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties gathered several dozen city, county and state officials in Sacramento on Wednesday for a one-day conference on homelessness. Their principal goal was to lobby for an annual appropriation for local governments to help the unhoused.