This has been a full, complicated, and always interesting year in the world of justice in Los Angeles and beyond.
When we all come back from the New Year’s holiday, we’ll take a look at our best stories of 2019, which are also often the stories that gathered the most interest and response from readers.
Many of these same stories and investigations measurably helped to move the dial on public policy toward reform in LA County this past year, and we feel good about that.
Now, we are looking ahead to the stories and investigations that are in the works for 2020.
For example, the coming year will be a crucial one as LA County Probation’s civilian oversight commission comes into being, and does so under a new interim chief, as the Board of Supervisors searches for a permanent leader for the nation’s largest probation agency.
And, we will go further in examining the intersection of girls and women and justice with stories such as 2019’s devastating investigation by Lauren Lee White, as part of our #MeToo Behind Bars series.
And next year, we will focus similarly bright spotlights on such issues as the corrosive problems inside the LA District Attorney’s office, the disturbingly bad conditions still present within the state’s juvenile justice system — and more.
We will also continue to closely track LA County’s often controversial sheriff, Alex Villanueva–along with much, much more in the way of stories, investigations, and new voices that we will bring to you during the coming year.
But to accomplish all this, we need your help–hence, this last end-of-the-year fundraising pitch to help us before midnight tonight, which is the cut-off for this year’s NewsMatch.
As you know, we are an independent, nonprofit news site. No subscriptions. No ads. No corporate overlords.
This means that to continue this work–and to expand it–we honestly need support from readers like you in these final hours of 2019.
A lot of you have already donated this month, and particularly in the last few days-–either via NewsMatch, or by check, or here at WLA
Your kindness in supporting us means more than we can adequately express.
For those of you who depend on WitnessLA for stories and investigations that you can’t find anywhere else…well, we’re reaching out one more time before the year comes to an end, to make way for 2019
And truly, any amount you give will help us dig deeper into these and other critical issues, and to write more stories, period.
PLUS, as we said above, any dollar amount you donate toward our fundraising goal, from $10 to $1,000, between now and December 31, will be doubled by the amazing people at NewsMatch.
So, please donate to help us keep investigating!
Your donation is, of course, tax-deductible.
If you prefer to donate by check, the check should be sent to:
WitnessLA c/o Community Partners
1000 N. Alameda St., Ste. 240
Los Angeles, CA 90012 USA
Please make the check payable to: Community Partners FOR WitnessLA.
(For your records, Community Partners’ Tax ID number is: 95-4302067.)
As long as the check is dated today, December 31, it qualifies for matching dollars from NewsMatch.
And thanks, as always, for reading WitnessLA and the California Justice Report. We feel privileged to be in your company.
Celeste and Taylor