Resources
To bolster civic knowledge and literacy for all Angelenos, we have compiled an ever-growing list of resources related to community life and governance on the local, state, and federal levels. Since 2016 is an election year, we have also included resources related to elections.
If you have a favorite resource that is missing from this list, please feel free to contact us at [email protected]
Jump to a section:
LOS ANGELES
CALIFORNIA
UNITED STATES
ELECTIONS
Los Angeles
- City of Los Angeles
- Resources for residents
- My LA 311 – Make requests for city services
- My Neighborhood – Information on your elected officials, Neighborhood Council, regional services, public safety services
- City Government – Meetings and votes of City Council and other city committees, departments, bureaus, boards, and commissions
- LAcity.org Twitter list
- Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
- Los Angeles Mayor
- County of Los Angeles
- Los Angeles Public Library
- County of Los Angeles Public Library
- L.A. Works – Volunteering and community service opportunities in L.A.
- Nextdoor – Your neighborhood social network
- r/LosAngeles – Reddit forum for the L.A. community
- Businesses
- LAEDC – Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation – Economic research and business services for quality jobs in L.A. County
- L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce – Membership and business development services for the voice of business in the region
- News
- L.A. Times
- Los Angeles Daily News
- 89.3 KPCC – Southern California Public Radio
- 89.9 KCRW – Music, NPR, culture, and public affairs
- Los Angeles Magazine
- WestsideToday.com – West LA news & Westside TV
- The Eastsider – News from Echo Park, Northeast & East L.A.
- ladowntownnews.com – Los Angeles Downtown news
- DowntownLA.com – Lifestyle resources curated by the Downtown Center Business Improvement District
- happeninginDTLA.com – Discover stories, events, and places in DTLA
- Los Feliz Ledger – News for Los Feliz, Silver Lake, Echo Park, Atwater, & Hollywood Hills
- Larchmont Chronicle – News for Hancock Park, Windsor Square, Fremont Place, Park Labrea, Larchmont Village, and Miracle Mile
- Larchmont Buzz – News from Larchmont Village, Hancock Park, and the Greater Wilshire areas of Los Angeles
- Park LaBrea News and Beverly Press – News serving the Park Labrea, Miracle Mile, Hancock Park, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood communities
- West San Fernando Valley – News and events in the San Fernando Valley, mostly on the west side of the 405
- Events
- We Like L.A.
- LAist – News, food, art, and events targeting young urbanites
- LA Weekly – News, music, movies, restaurants, reviews, and events in Los Angeles
- CicLAvia – Open, car-free streets events throughout Los Angeles
- Hidden LA – Exploring and embracing L.A. as a place and as a culture
- Planning
- Urbanize LA – Real estate development and planning news in L.A.
- Curbed LA – L.A. homes, neighborhoods, architecture, and planning
- Great Streets – LA Mayor initiative to beautify and revitalize 15 major streets throughout the city of LA
- LA Streetsblog – News on L.A. streets
- Survey LA – Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey identifying historic landmarks in L.A.
- Recode LA – Updating L.A.’s zoning code
California
- CA.gov
- Office of Governor Edmund Brown
- Legislatures
- The California Channel – CSPAN for state government
- Southern California Association of Governments – Six-county metropolitan planning organization
- Tracking legislation and lobbying
- Open States: CA – California State Legislature legislators, bills, and committees
- Open Government: CA – Bills, people, issues, and campaign contributions
- Digital Democracy – Advanced searches of all state legislative committee hearings by keyword and topic
- Legiscan: CA – Bill searching and monitoring
- GovBuddy – Paid guide to California legislators
- How to Lobby the California State Legislature
- California Legislative Information
- Voting
- Advocacy groups
- American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California – Defending the Bill of Rights
- CA FWD – A bipartisan initiative to make the California Dream attainable for all
- Southern California Grantmakers – Regional association for philanthropists and grantmakers
- California Senior Legislature – Representing seniors and senior issues in California
- SoCal Connected – TV and newsmagazine from KCET in its 7th season
- r/California – Reddit forum for California community
United States
- USA.gov
- Library of Congress – Congressional Records and educational resources
- GovTrack.us – Tracking Congressional legislation and votes
- AskThem – Ask your elected officials anything
- We the People – Write petitions to the federal government
- Popvox – Real-time platform for constituent stories
- Madison – Public feedback on policy documents
- MapLight – Revealing connections between campaign contributions and legislative votes
- OpenSecrets.org – Comprehensive resource for federal campaign contributions, lobbying, and interest groups
- Change.org – Write a petition and mobilize support around any issue
- VolunteerMatch – Connecting people who want to volunteer with volunteer opportunities anywhere
- Civics education
- National Constitution Center – Interactive exploration of the Constitution
- iCivics – Civics games developed by former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor
- Annenberg Classroom – Educational resources for teaching civics
- Center for Civic Education: 60-Second Civics – Daily 60-second civics podcasts
Elections
- Politifact – Fact-check statements made by members of Congress, the White House, lobbyists and interest groups
- Brigade – Voters network to find others who share your opinions on national and local issues
- Vote Smart – Non-partisan information about current candidates and issues
- ISideWith.com – Matches you to the candidate you should support based on your political stances
- Community of Us – Organizing and voting in L.A. and CA
- Intelligence Squared Debates – Intelligent political debates
- See Political – Educational animated videos explaining the electoral process
- Vote Allies – Donate your vote to someone who would otherwise be ineligible to vote
- Burn My Vote – Match with someone who would have voted for the other establishment party and pledge your new votes to your favorite third party canddiate
- Chartsme.com – Game to predict whether you are more liberal or conservative
- ReConsider – Biweekly podcast on political issues facing western democracies
- Ballotpedia – the neutral online encyclopedia of American politics and elections