Welcome to WitnessLA, the online source for daily coverage of social justice news. At WitnessLA we discuss issues of crime and punishment, race, education, immigration, public health, the environment, civil liberties, economic justice….and more. You’ll find topical commentary plus street reports, leaked and breaking news, and the occasional dollop of gossip. In the section called Street Stories we’ll often run an ongoing series of stories designed to put a human face (or faces) on the varied facets of a particularly complex issue.

In the section called Justice/Injustice Alerts we’ll feature news that’s been reported and posted—not by us—but by readers….with commentary by other readers.

The site is titled WitnessLA because a lot of what is talked about here is Los Angeles-based. But it’s not limited to LA. The truth is, many of the nation’s hoariest social problems are writ larger in Los Angeles than anywhere else. To pick an obvious example: LA is the gang capital of the world. And we have more homeless here than anywhere else in the U.S. And LA County has more parolees released back into its communities than any other place in the nation. And our school system is among the nation’s largest and most troubled. And America’s biggest mental health hospital is the Los Angeles County jail system. And LA has the biggest foster care system. And.…And….And…..

You get the picture.

But, here’s the good news. If we can solve these problems in Los Angeles, we can solve them anywhere.

So, let’s get on with it.

Please come to WitnessLA to argue, discuss, shout, chat, fight, inform.

Come to bear witness.

We need you. We’re all in this together.

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ONE MORE THING

We hope many of you will become more than merely readers and commenters. We hope you’ll be grassroots reporters. That’s what the Justice/Injustice Alerts section is about.

Tell us what’s going wrong in your community, your city, your state. What’s going right? Dig up the stories no one else is covering. Investigate. Instigate. Raise your voice. Scream. Point fingers. Give praise, if praise is deserved.

Get involved. Get the word out.

Eventually, you’ll be able to post directly at the Justice/Injustice Alerts page. In the meantime—send us tips ands stories via e-mail. Tell us and the rest of the world what’s up!