Happy Thursday, I hope you are well.

This week had me thinking a lot about framing, bias and the responsibility that comes with local reporting. Journalists bring lived experiences, perspectives and emotions into their work—whether we admit it or not. I think the better practice is not pretending we’re robots, but consistently asking ourselves: What is the framing of this story? Whose perspectives are missing? Did I fairly represent what happened?

Those questions came up repeatedly this week as I covered community conversations about local history, city finances, new laws, and school funding. Some topics were emotionally charged. Some involved conflicting narratives. And some required slowing down long enough to separate facts from assumptions and rumors.

I’m still following up on several questions raised during this week’s reporting, including firefighter-paramedic negotiations and other community concerns that surfaced during Wednesday night’s LVC3 forum.

Thank you for continuing to read, question, share and support local journalism rooted in curiosity, transparency and accountability.

Staci

LVC3 Forum Brings Residents, City Officials Together to Discuss Local Issues

Updated 1:37 p.m. May 30 with corrected attendance numbers and to correct the abbreviated name of the coalition.

The La Verne Coalition of Concerned Citizens, also known as LV3C, hosted a community forum Wednesday night at Lighthouse Baptist Church in La Verne.

According to Rick Bowen, an administrator of the private La Verne Concerned Citizens Facebook Group and moderator for the evening, more than 40 residents attended the event, which featured a Q&A with City Manager Ken Domer, Finance Director Christy Lopez, Council member Steve Johnson, and La Verne Firefighters Association President Dave Bonanno. Another 600 people watched online, Bowen said.