Rebuilding a Lost Home, a Beloved Garment, and a Treasured Radio

The California Report Magazine

How a Pasadena Church is Helping One Senior Through Wildfire Recovery

It’s been more than seven months since the Eaton Fire tore across Altadena, just east of Los Angeles. Rebuilding homes and neighborhoods could take years – a daunting timeline, especially for seniors. Local advocates worry that many elders within Altadena’s historic Black community won’t be able to rebuild. Afro LA’s Corinne Ruff has this story of how members of a church in Pasadena are coming together to support an elder congregant as she works to rebuild her home, and her life.

Fix a Zipper and Save the Planet at San Francisco’s Free Clothing Repair Clinics

Usually public libraries are quiet spaces, but on a recent evening in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood, the building was buzzing with the sound of sewing machines. Once a month, libraries around the city transform into pop-up clothing repair clinics. On the face of it, it’s a chance to patch that hole in your go-to jacket or finally fix that broken zipper on your skirt, but the goal of the program is to help residents reuse items, and keep them out of the landfill. KQED’s Bianca Taylor takes us inside.

Repairing a 1957 Vintage Radio Rekindled a Daughter’s Bond With Her Dad

For reporter Rachael Myrow, radio has long been a fixture in her life – not just through her career in public broadcasting, but also through a connection to her father. Fred Myrow was an LA composer who wrote soundtracks to films like Soylent Green and Phantasm. She tells us how the discovery of her father’s beloved old radio has strengthened their bond many years after his death.

The Truth Behind One of the State’s Most Ubiquitous Bumper Stickers

We’ve all seen them before: those bright yellow bumper stickers that read “Mystery Spot” in black lettering. But what, actually, happens at the Mystery Spot? In 2021, reporter Amanda Font followed the story to the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains for our Hidden Gems series.

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