LaShea Delaney

Sarah Jones Wrote a Play About Sex Work That Won’t Make You Want to Die- Los Angeles Magazine

In her one-woman show, Sell/Buy/Date Sarah Jones moves seamlessly through a series of characters, from a Jewish grandmother to a pimp to a Caribbean woman doing all that she can to survive. Each character is so distinct in every sense, but they’re all written and played with the same radical compassion. With each person, we get a new story, set of circumstances, and understanding of their place in the world.

In Sell/Buy/Date Jones takes on on the subjects of sex work, sexual exploitation, and pornography. Her characters exist in our now, but in the world of the show, they’re being studied by a college class in the future. Jones vaults us forward so we can look at our present with sympathy.

How Trump’s Wine Tariff Could Wind Up Being Seismic in California- Los Angeles Magazine

The question is whether this will be a good thing for domestic producers, especially young winemakers who don’t have the resources that some European producers have, but people in the business say that just isn’t how it works. Atwood points out that many of the young domestic winemakers she works with charge more for their wines by necessity. They have different financial burdens than French winemakers, who may have land that’s been in their families for generations. European wines can be cheaper, which makes it possible for her to buy wines from a California winemaker just starting out. People in the industry worry a tariff could disrupt a delicate balance that keeps the California wine ecosystem afloat.

Hatchet Hall Is Filling in Culinary Blanks this Black History Month-Los Angeles Magazine 

In the late 18th century, Hercules Posey and James Hemings were among America’s first celebrity chefs. They were also enslaved, property of America’s first and third presidents, respectively. Hemings (you may have heard of his sister Sally) was forced to work in Thomas Jefferson’s kitchen while Hercules (widely known by his first name) labored for George Washington. Hercules would be the first black man to work in the president’s house, and Hemings the first to cook in a foreign embassy.

These Boyle Heights Bar Consultants Are Helping Undocumented Restaurant Workers During the Coronavirus Crisis-Los Angeles Magazine

As thousands of L.A. restaurants either switch their focus to takeout or temporarily shutter amid the coronavirus outbreak, the hospitality community has kicked into high gear to help its own. There are free meals, produce boxes, and innumerable fundraisers to generate money to help workers who’ve lost jobs or had their hours cut significantly since March 15.

When a New Provisions Shop in Atwater Village Needed to Stock Its Shelves, It Looked to Local Restaurants-Los Angeles Magazine

The idea for the new Atwater Village provisions shop Wine + Eggs sprang from a simple craving. Owner and Atwater local Monica Navarro had just expanded her family and was looking for a place to pick up pasta, tomato sauce, and a much-needed bottle of wine in the neighborhood. After searching for all of those things under one roof and coming up empty, she took matters into her own hands.

Sunday Nights at a Roller Rink in the Valley Are for Grown Folks and Custom Skates- LAWeekly

"The skaters on Sunday night are skilled — they move in unison but everyone has a style of their own. If you are on the outside of the circle, there's no slowing down — you have to go with the flow and the rhythm of the group. If you want to slow down or work on your footwork, you can skate into the center of the circle, maybe learn a routine. There are single skaters, couples locking arms and threesomes supporting one another on the floor, and they are all in the pocket, moving without thought, just letting their skates glide. The fluidity and freedom of their movement are infectious."

Real-Time Wine Talk: How Clubhouse Changes Industry Conversations- Wine Enthusiast

Clubhouse is an audio-based social media app where invited users can sign up for clubs that spark their interest. Those clubs host rooms to discuss topics ranging from meditation to personal finance to oenology. There are panel-style talks where the “audience” listens in and can raise their hands to ask questions, or less formal, free-form discussions.

Contemporary Black Artists Are Redefining Portraiture in a Show at CAAM- LA Weekly

Portraiture evolved from immortalizing the rich and famous to more egalitarian subjects. It's meant to represent the essence of a subject — a gesture, a gaze, the implied movement, or stillness. The content of a portrait goes beyond the human being represented and includes the materials used, the colors, and the composition. The works in CAAM’s show span from the museum's inception in 1984 until now and, most important, offer a glimpse at subjects that contemporary black artists highlight in their work. "Face to Face" also presents a sampling of the kind of work that is collected by the patrons who make up a tight community of art lovers in Los Angeles.

A Coffee Shop With a Humanitarian Mission Is Coming to the Central Library-Los Angeles Magazine

“The reasons someone may end up on Skid Row are as varied as the people who inhabit the community. In a city where rents are skyrocketing and major income disparity, it’s easier than people may think to become homeless. But the 50-plus-block downtown L.A. neighborhood is no longer being treated like a lost cause, thanks in part to organizations that are focusing on the people who inhabit Skid Row and what skills they may need to get back on their feet.”

The Best Time I Worked at Hot Dog on a Stick- The Hairpin 

"At my current position, I read articles about how sitting most of the day is killing me. I remember the days when I would stand for hours, in a shack looking out at the ocean, on that brightly lit platform in the Santa Monica Mall. I miss my body always being an active participant in my work. But mostly I miss how great I looked in a pair of electric blue polyester shorts."

Black Girls Can Be Losers Too: From 'Living Single' to 'Scandal'-IndieWire

"Black women should have equal opportunity to be inappropriate and irresponsible. Where are all of the black female nerds, stoners, slackers, and weirdos? We can’t all make wise choices and know the answers to important questions. Our onscreen characters should be able to be as dippy and bumbling as their white counterparts. Watching "Broad City" is a great time: The irreverence, the moments of truly sad desperation and the bright spots of smoking weed and being exactly who they wanted to endear the audience to Ilana and Abbi."

More and More L.A. Theater Companies Are Brining In Diverse Voices-LA Weekly

"When women’s voices are amplified you get theater that is diverse in subject matter, the perspective is expanded and we all win. As Los Angles theater companies continue to produce work by marginalized playwrights, more theater will be created that is worth sitting in the dark for."

Nina Chanel Abney Tells the Store of Our Brutal World in Bold Detail-Los Angeles Magazine

“Figurative painting is the art of representation. It’s taking something that is real, tangible, and recognizable and using any number of mediums to create it again. With figurativism the artist can present exactly what exists or they can form greater contexts and appoint new meanings. Some artists choose to create narratives so we get a glimpse of how they see the world unfolding.”

Star Sommelier Roni Ginach Is a Natural Winemaker’s Best Friend-Los Angeles Magazine

Sommelier Roni Ginach was very close to becoming a psychoanalyst when she chose to focus on the centuries-old tradition of fermenting grapes rather than the century-old tradition of exploring the unconscious mind. Since that time, Ginach has spent years honing her skills and building wine lists for some of L.A.’s favorite restaurants, including Michael’s in Santa Monica and Kismet in Los Feliz. Then Ginach met the forefather of natural winemaking in California, Tony Coturri, and a new business venture was born. Under the moniker Roni Selects, Ginach is importing and distributing natural wine from Italy, Germany, France, and Georgia (U.S winemakers too). The thing that connects the winemakers she works with? A shared ideology that wine should be made with, as Ginach would say, “no junk at all.”

The Pasadena Couple Behind Good Luck Wine Shop Made a Turbulent Year Much More Palatable- Los Angeles Magazine

When Kate and Adam Vourvoulis were researching a location for their winery, Vin de California, they happened upon something unexpected: a part of Pasadena that was already zoned for wine making.

Prosperity Market Connects Angelenos with Fresh Produce–and Social Change

Entrepreneurs Carmen Dianne and Kara Still are making it easier to shop from Black urban farmers while bringing fresh, healthy food to underserved communities