Meline Elian had never driven in Armenia before the onset of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. The 52-year-old mother from Granada Hills had traveled to her homeland several times as a tourist and for business ventures designed to stimulate the country’s economy. The mountainous landscape had deterred her from navigating the winding roads herself, prompting her to rely on experienced drivers, such as her newly-close friend, Armenia native and tour bus driver Vruyr Khachatryan. Shortly after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the ethnic Armenian enclave of Artsakh (internationally known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Region or NKR) on September 27, Elian found herself behind the wheel of a van, closely following Khachatryan into total darkness through zigzagging forest trails, inching closer to a war zone. She was on a mission to pick up Internationally Displaced People (IDPs) and bring them to safety. Read the rest on LAMag.com.

Recreational marijuana isn’t just about having fun. As cannabis moves toward the mainstream, local consumers and some holistic health practitioners are exploring the possible benefits of cannabis-related compounds that don’t involve psychoactive or intoxicating effects. Read the rest on The Argonaut Newsweekly’s Health & Beauty Magazine (page 7).

Getting up in the morning for work is hard enough for some people. Now imagine rolling out of bed before the crack of dawn to attend a 5:30 a.m. dance party. Read more on PlayaVistaDirect.com.

Roughly one year after homeLA’s groundbreaking performance PASSAGES at the John Sowden House, the Los Feliz ghouls living within enticed the group to return to L.A.’s iconic architectural gem in order to host their Inaugural Benefit. There, Rebecca Bruno’s seven-year-old salon-style, site-specific dance company put on a few highlights from their January 2019 show and played a video about their upcoming plans to transition into a more fully-realized arts organization. In the coming year, they hope to document their ephemeral work more professionally, pay artists a living wage, and fund their Place-Making public youth education program. Read the rest on L.A.DanceChronicle.com.