Brenda Rees

Highland Park— A mainstay cultural festival of Northeast Los Angeles for more than two decades, the Lummis Day Festival is scaling back festivities this year to concentrate on highlighting the local music scene.

Silver Lake— Donning thick gloves and a protective helmet, I felt like I was getting ready for a spacewalk.

Highland Park/Eagle Rock—One recent day in Highland Park, I turned left from York Boulevard and headed north on Avenue 51. Cruising past quiet bungalows, I

Glassell Park— It felt like I was making an offering to the gods as I placed a stack of colorful mushroom stickers in the Trinkets in LA Box on Marguerite Street in Glassell Park.

El Sereno— It started about two years ago with a dozen people attending a meet-your-neighbors potluck in a living room.

Taking mass transit is suddenly hot—think of how many Angelenos left their cars at home when they attended a World Cup game.

When Los Angeles Times reporter Sam Quinones was out investigating stories in the early 2000s, he regularly passed images of the Virgin of Guadalupe on walls, alleyways and street corners.

Lincoln Heights— A Lincoln Park Master Plan is in the early stages of addressing public safety, maintenance and historic preservation at one of L.A.'s first urban parks.

Los Feliz astronomer Laura-May Abron shares her love of space at Griffith Observatory Star Parties, leads astronomy tours and inspires young girls to look to the stars.