Revealed: the rural Californians who can’t sell their businesses – because LA is their landlord

Los Angeles has long owned large swathes of the Owens valley. An investigation reveals how the city has tightened its grip

This article is reported by AfroLA and co-published by AfroLA, Guardian US and Inyo County's The Sheet. It's the first of several stories examining the impact of Los Angeles's extensive landownership in the Owens Valley.

A red horse statue perched on a 12ft pole greets drivers coming to the town of Bishop from the south. It's one of the first landmarks here, part of Mike Allen's corrugated metal feed store - a local institution that sells camping gear, livestock feed and moving equipment in this expansive region of inland California.