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Like you, we drove through Uptown for months, concerned about the vacant storefronts and large group using drugs across from McDonald’s. So we set to work talking both to concerned citizens and local businesses, as well as the City and other local leaders. The result was a cover piece in our March edition, titled “Uptown in crisis.” We watched as things began to shift once we started asking questions. Police were issuing trespassing citations, and the used needles and trash on the street were cleaned up. Multiple community meetings were held, pulling together people to talk about how to solve the complicated issues.
And the data shows that narcotics-related 911 calls in Uptown dropped immediately. The City held a press conference announcing they had a timeline for the Uptown Ambassador program that had been funded years earlier, and it would launch in fall 2026. Meanwhile, a volunteer-run group began walking the streets, and we featured them on the cover of our May edition.
We’re proud of the role neighborhood journalism plays in spotlighting problems, and in the conversation towards solving them. And we're not done. Last Thursday, we published an opinion piece on our website, written by a local resident, titled, "Uptown residents need a voice."
This week, our print edition out Thursday will highlight a similar issue in Whittier.
We’d like to invite you to help support our work, and we’re launching a summer membership drive. If you’re been a long-time supporter, consider going up a level. If you have thought about supporting our work, today is a great day to start.
Our staff is small, but our reach is big.
From left: Vasiliki Papanikolopoulos, Tesha M. Christensen, Melody Hoffmann, Charlie Rybak
OUR HISTORY
When the Southwest Journal shut down in 2020, two news sources sprang up to fill the void in 2021: Southwest Voices, an e-newsletter with website, created by Charlie Rybak and Andrew Haeg; and Southwest Connector, a print newspaper with website launched by Tesha M. Christensen of TMC Publications CO. In the fall of 2025, we merged, creating one robust entity connecting Southwest neighbors together. We operate without a paywall, offering everyone the same news, one of the hallmarks of democracy.
We’re sustainable because our business model relies on the traditional method of selling ads – and on the newer model of people signing on as members to support their local news source.
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