‘Throughout the years it’s gotten worse’

In 2011, 13-year-old Cynthia Abuede, an eighth-grader at Resurrection School in Boyle Heights, appeared in a documentary commissioned by California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) called “The Right to Breathe.” The film derived its emotional impact from the personal stories from people like Cynthia, who held up her drawing of the lead battery recycler Exide Technologies and her sister nearby coughing with asthma in the film.

White Mass: Celebrating ‘a noble calling’

Jorge Francisco Carreon, M.D., is a seemingly tireless OB/GYN who sees patients at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood and at his own clinic in South Gate. When he’s not delivering babies, Dr. Carreon — known for his admirable work ethic and leadership roles — serves on numerous boards and advisory committees. But the 70-year-old physician always makes time for faith and family.

Christian Service 4Life: ‘You are the light of the world’

The atmosphere across the outdoor tennis stadium at the StubHub Center in Carson crackled with the energy, enthusiasm and clamor of more than 6,000 junior and high school students during the annual Christian Service 4Life rally on Oct. 14.

St. Raphael School receives Barona Grant

St. Raphael School recently received a $5,000 Barona Education Grant through the Barona Band of Mission Indians to fund a portion of the technology needed for a new junior high science program, which includes virtual dissections, interactive physics, and virtual chemistry experiments.

La Reina offers middle school in 2015

In an effort to provide “a seamless transition from middle school to high school,” La Reina High School will offer a middle school for girls to include grades 6-8 beginning in fall 2015. Founded in Thousand Oaks by the Sisters of Notre Dame in 1964, La Reina currently offers enrollment for grades 7-12.

OLA named Fair Trade Congregation

Shepherded by its active Fair Trade Ministry, Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Claremont has been named a Fair Trade Congregation, one of only seven in the United States.

Fair Trade is a self-sustaining business model with principles that include fair prices and wages, safe working conditions, no forced or abusive child labor, strict environmental standards, and community development. Small producers are able to generate enough income to put food on the table and send their children to school.

St. Francis Med Center designated as Approved Stroke Center

On a typical summer day in July, 36-year-old Rosina Espinoza suddenly felt dizzy. Though she initially thought it was an anxiety attack, she realized it was something more when she tried in vain to reach for a bottle of water. Then she noticed dampness on her arms and legs, and realized she couldn’t speak clearly.

Ramona Convent: Empowering young women for 125 years

About 500 students, alumnae, parents, staff and guests gathered on the grounds of Ramona Convent Secondary School in AlhambraOct. 4 to celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary.

Archbishop José Gomez presided at Mass, followed by a blessing ceremony for a recent addition to the all-girls’ campus: a statue of Blessed Marie Rose Durocher — who founded the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary — created by Holy Names Sister Paula Mary Turnbull.

Image of Virgin Mary from Mexico tours Southland

Visiting from the Basilica-Cathedral of the Diocese of San Juan de los Lagos in Jalisco, Mexico, the pilgrimage image of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos is being venerated by the faithful of the Southland.

Colburn’s Glee Choir: The freedom to express through music

Salesian High School senior and drum line member Brendan Lopez has a passion for music. When the opportunity came up as a sophomore to join the after-school Glee Choir at the Colburn School of Music in downtown Los Angeles, he decided to try it out, and he’s been coming weekly ever since.