To Fix a “Bad” Neighborhood, Connect the Neighbors

Even If Your Community’s Got 99 Problems, Disconnectedness Is Number One

The California Wellness Foundation President Judy Belk introduced a Zócalo/The California Wellness Foundation event at MOCA Grand Avenue by explaining to a large crowd why she was intrigued to hear what people who live and work in Los Angeles have to say about wellness in their neighborhoods. In a recent poll the foundation conducted of Californians, “L.A. rated their community and their wellness experience the worst in the state.”

Why is that? And what are individuals, organizations, and government doing to improve Los Angeles communities? These were a few of the …

By Sarah Rothbard | November 2, 2016

More Sprawl Can’t Keep the Inland Empire Down

The Region Is Bullish on Job Growth and Civic Engagement to Combat Challenges Like Long Commutes and Low Wages

By Sophia Kercher | October 27, 2016

The Inland Empire is facing a boom in population growth that presents a challenge for increasingly sprawling communities. Still, the region remains optimistic and open to embracing positive change to …

Dear Government, Be Careful How You Help the Central Valley

DIY Fresno-Area Communities Need Public Support—Without Strings Attached

By Joe Mathews | October 26, 2016

While Central Valley communities are creating their own solutions to stubborn problems neglected by county, state, and federal government, they also need government to offer more support for successful local …

Creating a Center for Culture, Tradition—and Mental Health Care

Why Treating Mental Illness Is Crucial to the American Dream

By Mario Nazareno Jr. | October 19, 2016

I came to Perris, a small town in Riverside County, more than two decades ago from the island province of Bohol in the Philippines. As much as I would have …

Health Care for People on the Edge of the World

A Clinic on a Fresno Bus Helps IV Drug Users Deal With Infections

By Lisa Margonelli | October 19, 2016

Dan, age 33, woke up one late summer Saturday in Fresno, California with pain in his left buttock.

Dan is tall, good-looking, and dresses neatly in long shorts, with white …

The Dump Next Door

Avenal Residents Survey Each Other to Understand How the Town Dump Is Affecting Their Lives

By Rosa Isela Moreno | October 19, 2016

When you’ve lived in a town for a long time, you have the idea that everyone thinks and knows the same things because we all live in the same little …

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