Westwood became my second home the summer I became city editor. I would endure a two-hour commute from my home in South Los Angeles several times a week to help with production on campus, to look for stories by meeting business owners and to cover community meetings. The cherry on top was covering LA’s Mobility […]
Author Archives: Roberto Luna Jr.
The Quad: Westwood’s situation and the possibilities a new council may afford
Discussions about how to shape Westwood’s future over the past couple of months have been polarizing, to say the least. Westwood Forward, a coalition of students, homeowners and business owners, submitted an application in December to subdivide from the Westwood Neighborhood Council and form a new council. The coalition hopes a new council can advocate […]
UCLA students, local residents argue over proposal to increase housing
Westwood residents and students clashed over UCLA’s planned housing projects at a public hearing Tuesday evening. While students advocated for the projects to increase student housing, local residents said they think the projects would interfere with Westwood Village’s aesthetic and intrude into their living space. UCLA plans to add 6,900 beds to five sites throughout […]
Westwood Village Improvement Association recap – June 15
The Westwood Village Improvement Association is a nonprofit organization tasked with improving the state of Westwood Village. Property and business owners created the association in 2011 to provide Westwood Village with functions the city of Los Angeles could not provide. Its board of directors meets monthly. Executive director Andrew Thomas said the city recently reconstructed […]
UC narrowing down supplier for body, in-car cameras for police officers
The University of California began searching for suppliers in April to implement body and in-car cameras for university police officers systemwide. The UC will determine the new policy’s costs and timeline for implementation after choosing a supplier, UC spokesperson Stephanie Beechem said in an email statement. She added the UC began exploring body cameras after […]
WWNC elections moved to odd-numbered years
The next Westwood Neighborhood Council election will take place in 2019 instead of 2018 to accommodate a citywide change. The council voted May 10 to approve the change after the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment said the city clerk will no longer hold neighborhood council elections on even-numbered years. This means the current council members, who […]
UCLA police Chief Tony Lee aims to increase engagement with students
As a police officer, Tony Lee said he has been able to make people’s days better. For instance, he once helped find a celebrity’s purse that contained irreplaceable photos and jewelry. “I checked 14 alleys and found her purse in one of the trash receptacles,” Lee said. “She was in complete tears when I returned […]