senior year of high school we backpacked through the Eastern Sierra for three weeks and that became my whole personality for the rest of my life. such an exhilarating and ancient part of California ~
I post often about the culture and LA stories I get paid to write but I rarely post Flight Club stuff because I just like being behind the scenes of streetwear lol. BUT today I was transcribing this interview I did with OsamaSon for Flight Club (Jump Out is one of my fave albums of the year) and after running it back I was excited to see how much my interviewing skills improved since I started doing journalism in 2018. O himself obviously had such rich things to share, but I don’t think I realized the quality of the convo we had until today. I’m bummeddddd that my interviews get edited like crazy for video sometimes. Can we all start blogging again fr??? Cuz these are crazy answers that are too good to edit out. One of my favorite interviews of the year. Thank you @ayannaamcneil for connecting us ❤️‍🔥 If you’re a music editor reading this can you hire meeeee I want to be commissioned for more shit in 2026
East LA resident Jabz Gallo can claim expert knowledge on the Least Bell’s Vireo, a native bird species that almost went extinct before concentrated efforts were made to restore its habitats in gentrified areas along the LA River.
In 2009, Jabz founded Save the Vireo (@savethevireo ), an autonomously run alliance of Angelenos who fight for conservation of local ecosystems, which became especially important during the revitalization of the river in the 2010s. Save the Vireo also fights against the systematic erasure of the natural habitat that Los Angeles’ indigenous species need to survive.
While the city and some nonprofits cleared areas for kayaking, Jabz and other community members pushed the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to protect the Least Bell’s vireo under state law. Now, the vireos are slowly returning.
But riverside projects continue to escalate, and Northeast LA parks are gradually losing public space in favor of private, recreational activities. For over 15 years, Save the Vireo has archived ways that these revitalization projects have cut corners to make beautification efforts happen along the river.
đź“ą by @lisaskwon
My story on @samkshoemaker for The Guardian is out now. Sam kayaked from Catalina Island to San Pedro on a boat he grew out of mushrooms, making it the first open sea journey of its kind. My article goes into the process, but given how vibrant and alive the actual voyage was, it would be remiss of me not to share my videos from it. Thanks Sam and @fulcrumarts for allowing me to be a part of this. Who’s next to grow a 🍄‍🟫🛶?!
Wow have you even subscribed to my substack? I’m pubbing a few interviews this summer and will also share bits from them to the grid (terrifying). My first is with @abhoopathy , the designer behind @zohrankmamdani ’s mayoral campaign with @designedbyforge . We talked about going to Carnegie Mellon (derogatory), illustrating, political base building, and Julia Cameron, the white lady who continues to make good points.
justacity.substack.com
