All four women have ties to California. Costello and Denison-Johnston are former UCLA rowers, Downes is a former USC rower, and Smith runs a yoga studio in Santa Barbara.
When Long Beach Opera’s executive director and chief executive, Jennifer Rivera, announced James Darrah as the new artistic director of the company in February 2021, she told The Times, “I really did not want to hire a white man for this job.” lat.ms/3JsFgMV
“The work of equity, diversity, inclusion and representation is something that has become a core value for me,” she continued. Rivera said she wanted to work with Darrah to provide more opportunities for artists from underrepresented communities. latimes.com/entertainment-…
But a year later, the company instead stands as a cautionary tale of how diversity efforts can go awry. lat.ms/3JsFgMV
Breaking: L.A. County will hold off on reinstating a universal indoor public mask mandate, a pause prompted by improvements in the region’s coronavirus case and hospitalization rates. latimes.com/california/sto…
Aside from delaying the order, which otherwise would’ve gone into effect Friday, the recent downward trends are fueling some optimism that the months-old COVID wave fueled by hyper-infectious Omicron subvariants is finally starting to wane. latimes.com/projects/calif…
County health officials have for months warned that a new universal indoor mask mandate was a possibility.
As the potential implementation date drew closer, the concept became the subject of increasingly intense criticism. latimes.com/california/sto…
Tess Gunty began to write her debut novel, “Rabbit Hutch," seven years ago. She was living in New York and experiencing a constant barrage of catcalls when she walked down the street. latimes.com/entertainment-…
She told @DoranyPineda90 that she felt “like a deer living in hunting grounds.” As if her flesh didn’t belong to her. To cope, she would dissociate.“I started to feel like I had to leave my body in order to get to my next destination,” says Gunty, now 29. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Gunty's debut, "The Rabbit Hutch," out Aug. 2, opens with the protagonist literally exiting her body. Her true subject, though, is a land of loneliness, squandered potential and exploitation that feels uniquely American — and what can help us survive it. latimes.com/entertainment-…
Sesame Place is facing a racial discrimination lawsuit exceeding $25 million less than two weeks after a video of a character appearing to rebuff two Black children at the “Sesame Street”-theme park went viral. latimes.com/entertainment-…
A Black father and daughter from Baltimore filed a class-action lawsuit against SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, which operates the park, alleging that characters “refused to engage” with their family “and all other Black guests in attendance.” latimes.com/entertainment-…
The plaintiffs — identified individually as Quinton Burns and K.B. and collectively as the Burnses — are seeking compensatory, actual, punitive and statutory damages, including interest, exceeding $25 million. latimes.com/entertainment-…