An LA Local cafecito event at Asteroid Vinyl. (Amir Vera/The LA Local)

Your neighborhood has a reporter. Have you met them yet?

On Saturday, June 27 coffee shops across LA are turning into places where you can tell a journalist exactly what’s been bugging you about your block…while drink amazing coffee.

From Boyle Heights to Silver Lake to Inglewood to Long Beach, local reporters will be set up at neighborhood coffee shops from from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. —  to hear what’s on your mind. Got a tip about a pothole that’s been eating tires for years? A landlord the city keeps ignoring? A community hero nobody’s written about? We want to hear it all!

It’s part of Local News Day LA, a pop-up series organized by The LA Local that connects you with your local reporter and give you a chance to become the source instead of just the reader.

See below for the full list of participating media outlets and coffee shops — The LA Local and our media partners hope you’ll join us:

  1. The LA Local – Koreatown, Pico Union, Westlake will be hosted by Open Market
  2. The LA Local – Inglewood and South LA will be hosted by Asteroid Vinyl Cafe
  3. Boyle Heights Beat will be hosted by Picaresca Cafe
  4. CalMatters will be hosted by Yia Caffe 
  5. Calo News will be hosted by Cruzita’s Deli and Cafe
  6. The Eastsider will be hosted by Rosebud Coffee (Highland Park location)
  7. LAist will be hosted by Cafe Calle
  8. Los Angeles Radio Collective will be being hosted by Spoke Bicycle Cafe
  9. LA Sentinel will be hosted by Patria Coffee
  10. LA Taco will be hosted by Cafecito Organico (Silverlake location)
  11. LA Public Press will be hosted by Holy Grounds Coffee & Tea
  12. Long Beach Post will be hosted by Wrigley Coffee
  13. Q Voice News will be hosted by Hot Java
  14. USC Annenberg Media will be hosted by South LA Cafe (Western location)

Come enjoy a cup of coffee (or tea) with us while supplies last. 

My background: I was born and raised in South Central LA, and am a proud alum of LAUSD schools. I earned my B.S. in Sociology and my M.Ed from Westminster College (SLC) and University of Utah, respectively. I returned to LA in 2018 and since then worked in non-profit educational organizations where I put my research on community engagement, critical race theory and youth empowerment into praxis.

What I do: I lead our community engagement efforts across the organization. From coordinating listening sessions to tabling at local events, to planning local candidate forums and surveying residents across the city, my goal is to build authentic relationships between our communities and newsrooms. I also support our LA Documenters program and our student journalism program with outreach and engagement.

Why LA?: LA is home, and with all its complexities, I truly believe it’s the best city in the world because of the local people that make this city run. And for that reason, we deserve our stories to be told accurately and holistically.

The best way to reach me: My email is kevin@thelalocal.org

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