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The unsung saints of Locke High School are its teachers. Not only do they mentor their students, but a great deal of their own time and money goes in to keeping enrichment programs alive. Locke's band director Reggie Smith is one of those saints.

Producer Angela Shelley talks about the challenges behind the production, and of finding the right representative teenagers for the award-winning television documentary, Inside Locke High & Return To Locke High.

All three students profiled in our award-winning shows, "Inside Locke High" and "Return to Locke High," attended Prom Night together. Producer Angela Shelley, Editor Michael Bloecher and Associate Producer Alexandria Gales crashed the event and brought back these memories.

Enjoy!

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SoCal Connected, KCET’s weekly TV news magazine, swept the Los Angeles Press Club’s 51st Annual Southern California Journalism Awards Sunday night, winning in four of the five TV categories for a total of five awards - three first place and two second place. One of the country’s oldest and most prestigious journalism competitions, the awards honor the best reporting in a variety of categories for broadcast, print and online media.

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Following our story, "Return To Locke High" one of the students we profiled, Bryan Ordaz, was invited to Burroughs High School Spring Band Concert as a guest musician. Bryan was accompanied by Locke Musical Director Reggie Smith, leading the Burroughs High School Band as Guest Conductor.

This was truly an honor for both teacher and student and we wanted to share it.

Enjoy.

Produced and Edited by: Tom Duncan at Good Job Rob Video Productions

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We at SoCal Connected have practically made a cottage industry out of covering the seemingly out-of-control spread of billboards and digital signs in our city.

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There are several dilemmas you encounter when doing a story about California real estate.  First off, though everyone agrees we’re in a “bust” phase in our housing cycle, the effects of this particular bust are all over the place, with no discernible connection between sales figures in Riverside versus Orange County, or home prices in Culver City versus Malibu.  Second, it’s a story that almost everyone has a vested stake in … the people in front of the camera, behind the camera, to the side of the camera.  You may have bought your home at the high end of the market, and see only grief ahead.  Or you’re trying to sell to sell a second home, and are worried that you’re going to take a huge loss.  Or you’re an academic expert who’s used their insider knowledge to buy various properties all across town.  In other words …  this is one story with no discernible, disinterested party.  Everyone brings a whole lot of personal and financial baggage to this particular table, and it showed how each of us approached and reacted to the story.   

On top of that was the endless stream of anecdotal observations we kept hearing.  You’d confirm that there’s been a 50 percent drop in southern California home prices.  Then someone would tell me that that couldn’t be true because their neighbors just sold their home for more than the asking price.  Next I’d read a report about the glut of unsold homes in this market … only to have someone question me about this because they’d been unsuccessfully looking for a house to buy.  Every fact and figure and statistic we came up with had a dozen anecdotes that seemed to contradict it.  Some of the answers to this paradox can hopefully be found in this week’s SoCal Connected piece, and in the blog posting by Burt Slusher.  The rest can be explained by pointing out that this housing bubble we just went through was the biggest, baddest one ever in California history … so it shouldn’t be surprising that the aftermath is more than a bit messy and surreal. 

Watch Val's complete chat with teen sailor Zac Sunderland following his travels through the Panama Canal.

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Recently retired Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray is on a crusade.

You might think a conservative judge from a conservative county would advocate for the prohibition of marijuana, but - based on his experiences - he is adamantly pro legalization.

Witnessing first hand what he calls the utter failure of our current policies of drug prohibition - marijuana in particular - he cites unnecessary prison growth, increased taxes, increased crime and corruption, and loss of civil liberties as the unhealthy side effects of an anemic policy in need of drastic reform.

Here he shares with correspondent Judy Muller why he thinks our current drug laws are ineffective:

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Bryan Ordaz, Joanna Alatorre, and Damon Horton

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Bryan writes:

Hello KCET,

It's me Bryan. I just wanted to talk a little about I feel and how I have been ever since I met you guys and my experience throughout the year at Locke High.

My experience being a part of the documentary was eye opening. I was a little shy at first because I wasn't used to having to deal with cameras following me around at school. However, it didn't take long before I overcame the shyness and the embarrassment of being on TV.

I loved the way the final product turned out. Friends and family even cried after seeing it on TV. I guess they were so touched by the documentary that is drove them to tears. It has been a great experience that I know I will remember even when I get older.

My experience at Locke under the new Green Dot system has been good. I feel that this year compared to previous years has been night and day. I say that because the students seem to actually want to learn and pay attention at school. Yeah, there are classes that I struggle with, but I know that no matter what the NEW Locke is going to make history. Teachers care about the students and to educate them, while students have a new perspective toward school. They want to learn and set goals for themselves. It has been a good year!

Bryan

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Joanna writes:

Dear KCET,

These past couple of months participating in the So Cal Connected documentary of Inside Locke High & Return to Locke High has been both inspiring to me and my friends.  It was inspiring to me because this documentary gave me the motivation to keep moving in my life.  It made me realize that there are other students out there just like me that have given up and some that haven't.  So realizing that, I asked myself, "Why am I going to give up?"  I am not only going strong for myself, but for my family too.

Thank You,

JOJO

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Damon writes:

Dear KCET,

Basically, my experience with KCET has been great. The documentary hasn't only helped me, but it has helped my family. I think it is the same for Bryan and JoJo. The changes that Green Dot made at Locke High School took some time to get used to. To tell you the truth I'm still getting used to it. At the end of the day, there are less fights amongst students and it seems that the students are learning and actually wanting to learn! So, I guess it is good for all of us. I want to thank Green Dot and KCET for everything.

Damon

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I did a webcam interview with Zac Sunderland who is sailing around the world solo, hoping to set a record as the youngest person to do that. Here are some bites that didn't make it on air.

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Dr. Robert Kim-Farley shares more information about how Southern California's public health system is mounting a defense against the outbreak of disease.

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This is the fourth chapter in our series on billboards in Los Angeles. What makes this one different than the other three is the personal nature of the story. Residents are fed up with waiting for city leaders to clean up the signs of LA, so they are taking matters into their own hands. Perhaps they were inspired by the protesters at the hoomes of AIG executives who took thousands in TARP money for fat bonuses. Whatever the reason, Westsiders took to the streets of Brentwood, a place, by the way, where I couldn’t find a single billboard. They displayed a U-Haul sized supergraphic outside the home of a building owner who allows supergraphics on his properties. It was a clever move by activists who are becoming creative in their ways of shaming sign companies and the city leaders into cleansing the city of billboard blight. Stay tuned to see what’s next.

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Cortines on using public schools from community events and activities:

On LAUSD's use of eminent domain to build new schools, resulting in the displacement of homeowners:

On the economy, the teacher's union, and layoffs:

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The grim news about our economic crisis just keeps coming. Makes you want to get away and forget your troubles. Where better than SoCal’s favorite suburb: Vegas, baby! That’s the thing though, in this age of belt tightening and financial comeupance how will a city built around spending, escapism, reckless gambling and over the top glitz, survive? Sure what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, but when it’s your earnings that stay there, where’s the fun—let alone justification—in that? Then, in February, President Obama made a specific reference to how inappropriate it would be for a company seeking bailout money to hold a meeting in Las Vegas. And just like one of those old hotels imploding, convention bookings plunged pretty much overnight.

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I know a lot of people will be interested in renting out their house after watching our story on Locations for Rent. But remember, supply exceeds demand. So here's some additional information and advice from the Bulows and from David Hatfield of CAST Locations. Good luck!

What happens when a production crew comes in?

Who should NOT rent their home out?

Why do you think your house has been chosen several times?

What do you look for when deciding whether to include a house in your listings?

In the latest episode of LA’s struggle to control its billboards, the city once again found itself a victim of its own actions. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Audrey B. Collins, in a tentative ruling, ruled against the city in a lawsuit filed by World Wide Rush LLC, an outdoor advertising company. The judge found the city in contempt for issuing citations against World Wide Rush while refusing to allow the company to apply for permits in the first place. Last year the same judge issued an injunction after ruling the city’s sign ordnance was unconstitutional.

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