Reporter Danielle Chiriguayo: 

This weekend, one of Downtown LA’s resident gay bars is celebrating its last, last call, closing after nearly a decade in operation. Redline is a spot I’ve followed closely as a reporter since the early days of the pandemic. It’s experienced the highs and lows of a time marked by political, economic, and personal turmoil. 

In LA, our bars, restaurants, coffee shops, and more serve as community spaces. They’re where we can meet up with friends, family, even strangers — and often come with the promise of fun, excitement, and maybe most importantly, connection. 

Since its opening, Redline’s been a bar, yes, but also a home to drag shows and a safe space for SoCal’s queer and allied community.

While Redline’s closure has prompted questions, sadness, and disappointment, owner Oliver Alpuche says it’s not really a goodbye. Plus, he says there’s a new LGBTQ+ bar on the horizon to look forward to.

Gay bar Redline says ‘see you later’ after 10 years in business

Owner Oliver Alpuche traces the decision to close Redline back to the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic when businesses across LA struggled to stay afloat. He says the shutdowns hindered, in part, the spirit of the community, and points to smaller crowds who often drank less. Plus, the prices of goods skyrocketed nearly overnight. 

Alpuche says he intended Redline to be a Cheers-like environment for SoCal’s LGBTQ+ community to come by and make friends. But after the shuttering of Bar Mattachine, a venue nearby that also catered to the queer community, Alpuche says traffic in the area decreased. Ultimately, after the pandemic, he says the damage was done. 

However, Alpuche is partnering with Brad Nitz, a bartender at Redline, to open another venue in Downtown LA. The establishment, which is still under development, is called Kiso. According to Alpuche, it will be an even bigger space to dance, drink, and vibe the night away. 

‘Last Repair Shop’ shows Angelenos being broken and repaired by music

Los Angeles is one of the last major cities in the country to provide its public school students with musical instruments for free. But the woodwinds, brass, and strings are bound to break sometimes. Thankfully, at a warehouse in Downtown LA, skilled craftspeople have been fixing those guitars, saxophones, and more for the last six decades. Their stories are the focus of an Oscar-nominated short documentary from the Los Angeles Times, directed by Kris Bowers and Ben Proudfoot. 

“It's not just a job. There's this love … because of the familial nature between all of the craftspeople. But also, each of them takes it so seriously, and feels like it's such an honor to be making sure that these instruments are working for students,” Bowers tells KCRW. 

One technician is Dana Atkinson, a gay man who came out in his late 20s during the mid-1970s. He says in the film, “My mom taught me music is like swimming. The rhythm, it’s constantly in the moment. And if you stop, there’s no music. So it’s not easy being a kid, but we try to make at least the playing of the instrument part as good as it can be.”

The craftspeople in the film all experienced hardships in their lives, and music kept them afloat. 

“It's really looking at how each of these people, at some point in their lives, they were broken, and in a sense, repaired by music,” Bowers says. “And so they really have that understanding that it's so valuable for kids to have access to something that can bring so much joy to their lives.” 

Crenshaw Dairy Mart’s first film festival: Stories of abolition, healing

Nearly 20 Black and Brown filmmakers screened their original works at the inaugural Crenshaw Dairy Mart Film Festival on February 17 at the Miracle Theater in Inglewood.

All of the films selected for the festival aligned with the organization’s values of ancestry, healing, and abolition, says Executive Director Ashley Blakeney. The festival also included a panel discussion on how film can be a tool in abolition work. Blakeney defines abolition as “taking down harmful systems that are negatively impacting us,” and adds, “but I always lean on the fact that it really requires the imagination to build new systems, and to reimagine what the world could look like that really benefits us.” 

Some of the films in the festival: 

- Niecy, directed by Shandaeya Caldwell, centers around a cook meeting the love of his life at work in a diner. 

- The Garden Edette, written and directed by Guinevere Thomas, is a Southern Gothic horror about a young Creole woman who has to choose between sacrificing herself or a new friend to her flesh-eating garden, a metaphor for the disappearing Creole language. 

- Sonidero Metrópolis, a documentary by Alvaro Parra, explores cumbia culture across the U.S. and Mexico. 

$1,400 for Paxlovid? Some COVID patients have sticker shock

Paxlovid helps COVID patients recover faster from their sickness and prevents it from worsening. Prior to November, the federal government procured it directly from the manufacturer, Pfizer, and provided it to the public for free. Now Paxlovid has entered the commercial market, and Pfizer set the cost for one round at $1,400. The final out-of-pocket expense is determined by whether the COVID remedy is covered by insurance. 

Paxlovid isn’t covered by Medicare. In anticipation of this sudden price hike, the Department of Health and Human Services set up a program ensuring that people with Medicare could still get Paxlovid for free through 2024. 

However, to get the savings, qualifying patients need to proactively enroll in the program. And some people, including doctors, don’t know that it exists.

“I think it’s multiple parts in the chain that need to make sure that we’re all aware that these options do exist,” says Brigid Groves, a senior staffer with the American Pharmacists Association. “So I don’t think it solely relies on the pharmacist. … We all need to make sure we’re doing our due diligence together.”

Vroman’s Bookstore is for sale. You need more than money to seal the deal

Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena has been around for 130 years. It opened in 1894 and has largely remained in the same family. Now the current owner, Joel Sheldon III, thinks it’s time to sell. He’s looking for a buyer who will continue Vroman’s mission to cater to the local community of readers.

He tells KCRW that a new owner must value the institution, the content of the books, and what all that means to customers in Southern California.

“They have to respect people. They have to respect our employees. They have to have integrity, honesty. You probably have to be willing to delve in and work pretty hard.”

In addition to being a bookstore, Vroman’s is an entertainment venue and gathering space that puts on hundreds of events every year, Sheldon III points out. The venue has hosted accomplished writers such as John Muir, Joan Didion, Ray Bradbury, and former President Jimmy Carter.