Leslie Berestein Rojas
My focus is on our coverage of L.A.’s communities of color and immigrant diasporas. Before this, I spent 10 years covering immigrant communities for KPCC.
When I was a kid, my family left Cuba and landed in Huntington Park. I grew up there, speaking Spanish at home and steeped in Southeast L.A.’s beautiful Latinidad. I love telling the stories of L.A. and its people. Now, I get to help shape those stories and work with talented reporters to hone their craft.
I’ve also covered immigration on the U.S.-Mexico border, reported stories in Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and done lots more for large newspapers and national magazines.
Among the things I love about L.A.: family, food from everywhere, signs in dozens of languages, the smells of chaparral and dusty freeways, the downtown skyline as you cross a bridge from the east. Mostly, I love that it’s home.
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California has no official workplace safety rules for domestic workers, but this year the state did issue voluntary guidelines for best practices. Some domestic workers and their employers are coming up with their own safety agreements. -
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza as airstrikes continue is prompting grief, survivors’ guilt, and “bringing back a lot of baggage.” Seeing a need for support, a mosque and school in Garden Grove have incorporated mental health into their programming.
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One hundred cases of the fatal lung disease have been documented among fabricators of artificial-stone countertops in the state. LAist partnered with Public Health Watch and Univision to break the news of the silicosis cluster in Los Angeles last year.
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An online effort called “Project Menorah” asks people of all faiths to put menorahs in their windows for Hanukkah as a show of support for Jewish neighbors. It started in Los Angeles.
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During the height of the pandemic, L.A. Latinos endured not just the highest infection rates, but big financial setbacks. Now, with inflation soaring, recovery has been tough. Some local schools have launched Spanish-language financial literacy classes for families trying to get back on their feet.
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L.A.’s Jewish, Muslim and Arab American communities have been processing anger, fear, and anxiety since the start of the Israel-Hamas war last month. Now, an arrest in the death of a Jewish man at a protest earlier this month in Thousand Oaks is adding to local tension.
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Reports of antisemitic and Islamophobic incidents are on the rise. Some hateful incidents may not be criminal offenses, but you can still report them.
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Los Angeles is pitching in to expand free legal help for immigrants facing deportation as part of Represent LA, a public-private program in which the city participates with L.A. County and private philanthropies.
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Feelings about how Israel should respond are complex in L.A.’s liberal-leaning Jewish community. Progressives are struggling to reconcile their values with outrage and grief, and with a sense of abandonment by the greater left.
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Local temples, mosques, and nonprofits have been calling for donations to help Israelis and Palestinians who’ve been injured and displaced.
