The retail space next to Café Aroma has been intermittently filled with art over the years. Golden Pine Gallery recently moved in after the space had been vacant for some time. Julianna Poldi, the owner, opened the gallery in July. While Poldi shows her own artistic paintings, she also has other artists’ work on display….

Michael Jaime Becerra, associate professor of creative writing at University of California, Riverside, said a sense of place and trust in his characters are the keys to his writing success. Becerra is himself shaped by the place where he grew up, El Monte in Los Angeles’ San Gabriel Valley, and his writing is a product…