Reporter Megan Jamerson:  

I’m such a sucker for a classic neon sign. I remember the first time I spotted the glow of red, white, and green letters on the 79-year-old Burbank restaurant, Chili John’s. It was early 2021, I had just moved back to LA and was living in the Valley, and I made a mental note to come back and check it out. Unfortunately, life accelerated, and I forgot to go. Then this spring, I heard the joint might close. I suspected their situation might reveal something bigger about our local economy, so on a Wednesday in late May, I finally visited the historic lunch counter.

Historic Burbank chili joint tries to avoid ‘slow, painful death’

Steve Hager and his wife Claudine took over ownership of Chili John’s 10 years ago, knowing success was tied to the restaurant’s location near Hollywood studios — even Walt Disney ate here. Now, as entertainment jobs dry up, many regulars are unemployed and cutting back on spending. The two announced their dire financial situation in March, and since then, they have been trying various measures to rescue the business, including opening a taproom and hosting themed events.

Hager used to pad slow sales months by renting out the restaurant for filming. Pre-pandemic, he booked about 10 productions a year, he says, but with filming numbers at a crisis level in LA, last year he had none, and this year only three. Now he uses most of his U.S. Coast Guard pension to cover the restaurant’s bill

While doors remain open, customers can still order chili over spaghetti noodles or rice. And if the cayenne kick has them in a puddle of sweat, regulars suggest the lemon icebox pie for dessert.

ICE raids are ‘tearing at the root of what is LA,’ says immigration lawyer

ICE reports that at least 118 immigrants were detained during the weekend’s raids in Los Angeles, Paramount, and elsewhere. Yliana Johansen-Méndez, chief program officer at Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), says that when her organization heard about the raids, they sent attorneys out to check warrants, uncover who was detained so they could meet with them and give information about their rights, and ensure people were not being unlawfully and quickly deported. 

What’s most concerning, she says, is that people are “going into a black hole.” That means family members are telling ImmDef that a certain person was detained, but they can’t find them in the official immigration detainee locator.

She adds, “One of the young men that we met with his family, and I think we haven't yet been able to meet with him … he has an approved DACA case. And I think in their haste to arrest as many people as possible, ICE didn't put it together. Because when they processed him, they gave him a new … case number, when they should have kept the number from his DACA case.”

Workers on edge as ICE raids cripple immigrant businesses

The San Fernando Valley has many hubs of Latino immigrant life in LA. But over the weekend, Van Nuys Boulevard was a ghost town. Jonathan Reyes and his family, who are from Honduras, own and operate La Bona Energia Juice Bar along that road. He reports a 70% drop in business over the last few months since people no longer feel safe going out and shopping.

All immigrants are feeling fear, hopelessness, and anger, according to journalist Benjamin Gottlieb. “The word that's used a lot is kidnapping, not getting due process, just being taken. That's how they feel. There's this consensus that there's not much that these folks can really do about it.”

He adds, “I spoke with an immigration attorney downtown, and one of her clients is from Cuba. He's been in the United States for three years, and he has a work permit and an open immigration case. … He's afraid to go back to work, and said he would rather stay home. … Many folks that are like him that have pending cases, they also closed down. … He's in the food business. … You can imagine how this has the potential to have a huge impact not just on immigrants, but on the overall economy.”

Pussy Riot founder incarcerates herself for ‘Police State’ in DTLA

Nadya Tolokonnikova, founder of the Russian feminist protest art collective Pussy Riot, was arrested in 2012 and imprisoned for nearly two years — for performing “Punk Prayer,” a protest of Russian President Vladamir Putin and his relationship with the Orthodox Church. After her release, she kept protesting Putin. And two years ago, she was added to Russia’s list of most wanted criminals. 

Now at her show “Police State,” running until June 14th, at The Geffen Contemporary at the Museum of Contemporary Art, she’s staying in a steel replica of her Russian cell. Inside, she’ll make music and art, using a sewing machine.

“There's a risk to be alive. But I think it's a bigger risk to censor yourself. … One of the biggest tools of any authoritarian … system is self-censorship,” she tells KCRW. “So when people start censoring themselves because their fear of possible consequences, and it's a very understandable human feature, right? But I think as an activist, you have to constantly fight this … and just continue to speak up no matter what.”

CAAM exhibit spans generations of Black Altadena artists

As Altadena recovers from the Eaton Fire, which raged through five months ago, its creative enclave is at the center of the California African American Museum’s ongoing exhibit called “Ode to Dena: Black Artistic Legacies.” The show features well-known artists and newcomers from the area, plus works crafted by multiple generations of families, including Keni Davis, his daughter Kenturah Davis, and her 2-year-old son Micah Davis O’Connor. 

Curator Dominique Clayton says Black culture in LA has largely been centered around neighborhoods like Leimert Park and Compton, but Altadena offers an alternative sanctuary.

“It’s a different pace and energy, which produces maybe a different wavelength. Families were able to build a home and a foundation to provide an environment for their children, and be these artsy kids, and be part of a new generation doing that work. That’s what we almost lost in these fires, and I don’t want to see that happen. We want to make sure that remains part of the soul and pulse of Altadena,” Clayton says.