The Tenant Association – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome to Hillside Villa, an apartment complex overlooking Chinatown where the rent stayed affordable while the rest of the neighborhood changed around it. For decades, it was a place where working-class Angelenos could raise their kids and live in community with their neighbors. And then, one day in 2018, all that was threatened. Because their landlord served the tenants with rent increases that were basically eviction notices.

Note: At the start of this episode, we incorrectly identified the receptacle used for the tenants' action as a trash can. It's actually a special bin used to burn offerings. We have updated the episode to reflect that correction.

This is The Tenant Association, a new podcast series from LA Public Press. It’s about neighbors in an apartment complex in Chinatown, who got a rent increase that was basically an eviction notice… and organized against their landlord instead. They’ve become a political force to be reckoned with, and changed what we think is possible for renters in LA. The tenants of Hillside Villa have been fighting for six years, and they’re not done. This is the story of the Hillside Villa Tenant Association, told over four episodes, starting next week (September 17th).

This week, we’re going to the Southeast LA city of Huntington Park, where street vendors and vendor advocates have found themselves in an unsettling battle with the city. Plus, our correspondent Ruth tells us why her relationship with Staples is… complicated.

You can find the videos Ruth references in her story here (https://x.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1650613941071155200?s=20) and here (https://x.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1650228253251231744?s=20)

This week, we’ve got a report on mutual aid groups who are trying their best to keep people from going hungry — since government assistance isn’t nearly enough. And, we’re going for a walk through Little Tokyo and Skid Row with Theo Henderson, host of the podcast We the Unhoused (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-the-unhoused/id1490017575). Plus, community updates on Star Garden, Suehiro, and more. For more information on Suehiro, visit https://lapublicpress.org/2023/06/suehiro-cafe-thrived-for-over-50-years-but-will-it-survive-gentrification-los-angeles-la-little-tokyo-metro/. To leave us a voicemail, call (323) 200-9539. 

This week, we’re talking with LA Public Press city reporter Elizabeth Chou, who’s been reporting on a motel in Chatsworth where dozens of formerly-unhoused Valley residents now live. Mayor Karen Bass recently held a press conference at the hotel… but the residents weren’t invited to the press conference, or even told what it was about. Instead, they were told they had to stay in their rooms and listen through the windows. And some reported leaks during Hurricane Hilary on Sunday. Plus, headlines from this week’s news, including another Hillside Villa update, and news about Measure J, the encampment on Aetna Street, and your local tenants union.

This week, we’ve got the first edition of Renter’s Hotline, a tenant advice segment. Our first tenant called in from her apartment in West Adams, where she’s had problems with lead paint and a smoldering electrical fire (!!) in her ceiling. And, a dispatch from a man who thinks Venice is the best place in the world, but had to leave to be part of Mayor Karen Bass's Inside Safe program. Plus, headlines from this week’s news, including an update on our hot labor summer, Hillside Villa, and a protest that shut down the board of supes meeting last week.

Welcome to the first episode of Smogland Radio. This week — it’s budget time. We’re diving deep into the Los Angeles County Budget with LA Public Press reporter Ashley Orona. We’ve also got a story from a tenant who was harassed by his landlord until he organized with his fellow tenants, and our first submission from our correspondent, Ruth. Plus, headlines from this week’s news.

Introducing Smogland Radio, a news podcast by and for LA from Los Angeles Public Press. We’ll have reporting that holds powerful people accountable, advice on how to thrive in Los Angeles, and in-depth stories about the issues that affect all of us.

The first episode of Smogland Radio will be out on June 29th. It'll publish monthly for the first couple episodes, and then twice a month after that. Subscribe now to get episodes as soon as they're released!

Most Sunday nights, Jamel will make a nice meal for himself and Daisy, and they’ll sit down to watch the football together.

Daisy is his best friend – a 14-year-old beagle.

Right now, Jamel and Daisy are living in a semi-converted garage. Jamel's looking for a better and more stable place to live – but he’s been turned away from housing because he refuses to be separated from Daisy. 

Over the last few months, Jamel has been keeping an audio diary for LA Public Press, to give us a sense of what day-to-day life is like for him and Daisy. Reporter Clare Wiley collaborated with Jamel to bring us this snapshot of his life with Daisy.

Plus, a first preview of what we've been working on: one investigation told over four episodes. Our first mini-season, out this summer!

The notorious former city council member Jose Huizar has been sentenced to 13 years in prison for taking millions in bribes from developers, selling out Boyle Heights, downtown LA, and the rest of his district. We went on a field trip to the sentencing, and this week on the show — we’re taking you there. With recordings and analysis from LAPP’s own Nancy Meza, Phoenix Tso, Elizabeth Chou, Mariah Castañeda and Carla Green.

Plus, an exciting update about the future of Smogland Radio.

For more on everything that happened with Huizar and the corruption scandal, check out The Sellout (https://open.spotify.com/episode/00LZg3ekj35JznS2Ny7lXj?si=cbe3927de8824031), an investigative podcast that was hosted by audience director Mariah Castañeda, produced by audio director Carla Green, and featured extensive interviews with Smogland Radio’s own host and executive producer, Nancy Meza. 

You can find the wild appendix that Huizar and his lawyers filed with the court, including pages of text messages from Huizar’s former aide George Esparza, here (https://ia601308.us.archive.org/3/items/jose-huizar-appendix-a-gov.uscourts.cacd.-790267.1228.19/Jose%20Huizar%20APPENDIX%20A%20gov.uscourts.cacd.790267.1228.19.pdf). Thanks to Kim Cooper and Richard Schave of Esotouric Tours, who uploaded the file.