LELA Explained

1. Article · Sep 26, 2026 · Suzanne Levy is a senior editor on the Explore LA team, where she oversees food, LA Explained and other feature stories.

   SoCal birdsong (opens the original)

   Excerpt · English

   Read excerpt

   What's in a name: The Merlin bird ID app, from Cornell University's Ornithology Lab, opened up Levy's ears to a whole new universe of bird calls. With names like dark-eyed junco, she wondered if they knew they were in SoCal rather than Georgian England. Who else was out there? Mixed in with raucous crows were birds like the spotted towhee and the orange-crowned warbler. Or the gorgeous chartreuse Swinhoe's white-eye, a relative newbie to the neighborhood.

   Feedback

2. Article · Sep 26, 2026 · Suzanne Levy is a senior editor on the Explore LA team, where she oversees food, LA Explained and other feature stories.

   World class Black art (opens the original)

   Excerpt · Neutral tone · English

   Read excerpt

   Why it matters: L.A. County acquired about 120 works from the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance after the L.A. company shut down nearly 20 years ago. Over two decades, William Pajaud, the company's art director, built a pre-eminent collection of Black art. County officials chose four public libraries and four community centers to show the work, keeping it accessible and free of charge. Why now: The L.A. County arts department created a new website with a map in March to help people find and see

   Feedback

Last 90 days. Choose a month to open its work.

Named in the text we hold. One piece can cover several.

• Los Angeles2 pieces
• ELLIOTT SMITH2 pieces
• Van Nuys2 pieces
• Park Blvd2 pieces
• Los Feliz Boulevard2 pieces
• Los Feliz2 pieces