Liam Dillon

5 days ago | timesdaily.com | Liam Dillon

LOS ANGELES — She knew she had to go even though she couldn’t imagine moving somewhere else. Maria Merritt has lived in El Sereno the better part of 30 years. Her little home on Poplar Boulevard served as the beacon in a turbulent life that led her to solid ground. She raised her four kids there, had a well-paid job and a spell of normal family life, cooking big meals on Sundays and adorning the front picture window with Christmas decorations in winter.

1 week ago | latimes.com | Roger Vincent |Liam Dillon

Uncertainty about which imports will be socked with new tariffs and when they’ll go into effect has thrown a cloud over home builders and other real estate developers trying to pay for new construction throughout Southern California, including neighborhoods scorched by the January wildfires. Many builders are trying to budget for rising costs but are frustrated because they don’t know what construction materials and appliances, such as stoves and air conditioners, will cost in the months ahead.

1 week ago | latimes.com | Liam Dillon

A new Los Angeles County public entity soon will collect an estimated $400 million annually in taxpayer money to fund low-income housing developments across the county. Ryan Johnson, interim chief executive of the Los Angeles County Affordable Housing Solutions Agency, is tasked with spending those dollars to finally make a dent in the region’s unrelenting homelessness crisis. Johnson was selected in September from 28 applicants.

1 week ago | latimes.com | Liam Dillon

More than five years after they seized vacant, publicly owned homes in El Sereno, protesters have received eviction judgments against them. Officials with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles say that they still want to avoid locking out group members, who call themselves “Reclaimers.” They are offering financial settlements. Some Reclaimers plan to resist in the hope they’ll be able to buy the properties.

3 weeks ago | latimes.com | Liam Dillon

This housing trend could be a solution for wildfire rebuilding (just don’t call it a mobile home)Builders of modular housing promote these homes as a faster, more affordable alternative to traditional construction. But critics worry that an overreliance on modular designs could make neighborhoods look bland and boring.