SoCal Connected is a new show from The KCET Network, whose purpose is to report and cover news that will “tell great stories with great characters that also have a hard news urgency” in Southern California (SoCal).
The first episode debuted yesterday with a segment called “Foreclosure Alley”. Corresponded by Lisa Ling (Channel One, The View, The Oprah Winfrey Show), it dealt with the economy, as several people in Riverside County were moving out of their homes due to not making mortgage payments on their houses, paving the way for the Inland Empire to come in and clean up the house as well as put the items up for either charity and for trash.
The segment featured interviews with a couple who lives in the neighborhood as well as the crew from Inland Empire, who stated that though they have a job to do, it doesn’t mean that they enjoy doing it. To illustrate, they put themselves in the shoes of those who are losing their house due to foreclosure — wondering and asking themselves questions such as, “What if that’d been me or someone else I know?”
Following “Foreclosure Alley” comes “Down But Not Out”, about Roslyn Lee, a 32-year-old middle-class woman from Monrovia that is on the hunt for work, shelter, and employment after she and her husband lost their jobs and is in danger of being evicting from her apartment. The final segment, “Sideways”, shows how real estate is leading to tough times.
SoCal Connected isn’t about the glitz, glamour, fame, and fortune of Hollywood as well as in the state of California. It’s not about Brad and Angelina as well as Britney Spears, but about the economic struggles taking place in California, and how they’re taking a personal toll on people that are on lean times. This series explores the reality of Southern California in an honest, unromanticized way.
SoCal Connected airs Thursday nights at 8pm on the KCET Network.
