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David Wagner

Latest Stories (8)

As more workers stay remote, developers eye the prospects of turning empty offices into housing

Feb 2, 2022
In Los Angeles, where there's a housing crisis, the pandemic has some looking at the "adaptive reuse" of under-used office buildings.
Converting empty offices to residential spaces could provide a solution to cities' affordable housing crises.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Tenants in Los Angeles anxiously await rent relief as the city struggles to get funds out

Aug 10, 2021
In hard-hit L.A., only about 15% of the city’s current rent relief funding has reached households in need.
Los Angeles demonstrators protest evictions and advocate rent cancellation during the pandemic in August 2020.
Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

Work-sharing programs allow companies to keep furloughed workers

Jun 17, 2020
Not all states have the programs, in which workers' hours are cut and unemployment benefits are used to fill in wages.
An employee at a cafe in Los Angeles in March. Work sharing is one solution to keep people employed during the COVID-19 recession.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Can a computer model reveal who is about to become homeless? LA County is finding out.

Jan 23, 2020
The goal is to reach out and help people before they lose their housing.
Tents line a sidewalk in the city of Los Angeles, where homelessness rose 16% last year.
Courtesy California Policy Lab

How one Chicago call center works to prevent homelessness

Jan 14, 2020
Workers connect qualifying callers with one-time emergency aid.
A Chicago call center worker asks callers how they ended up on the verge of homelessness.
David Wagner/KPCC

How immigrant entrepreneurs get their start in the U.S. economy

Jul 4, 2019
In the heart of LA’s Thai community, low-income immigrants are getting ready to launch their first businesses in a new food hall.
Iririn Srirada, the owner of Thai food stall So Zaap, at the East Hollywood Farmer's Market on Hollywood Boulevard.
James Bernal for KPCC

More seniors are working — some by choice, others by necessity

May 1, 2019
Americans aged 65 and older are more likely to keep working into old age.
Emma Allen drives herself to work most days. It’s convenient, but the cost of car insurance stretches her limited budget.
Sean Havey for California Dream

Risk takers still see golden opportunities in California

Mar 30, 2018
California’s early history redefined how Americans saw failure and success. Today, the state’s economy continues to benefit from entrepreneurs eager to take big chances.
Gold miners pose near their camp on a hillside in El Dorado, California circa 1848 to 1853. 
Library of Congress