Blog Profile / Opinion L.A.

Race for city controller lands at LAX

The Los Angeles city controller doesn't have any actual power over the modernization plans of Los Angeles World Airports or over whether a controversial new runway is built at Los Angeles International Airport. Nevertheless, LAWA and...Show More Summary

Healthcare for Angelina Jolie -- and everyone else [Blowback]

We applaud Times columnist Robin Abcarian for shining the light on the inequities in our healthcare system in response to Angelina Jolie’s recent announcement about her prophylactic mastectomy. When Jolie made her medical decision, she had at her disposal the resources to pay for the procedures and the best doctors; not everyone has the same ability.

Hey haters, people love dogs. Deal with it!

Meghan Daum’s Thursday column about the loss of her dog was a real tear-jerker. “If Rex could have talked, we'd have finished each other's sentences,” she wrote of their powerful bond.

Poll: Where should Vin Scully's voice be heard?

Readers are talking a lot about a man who talks for a living: Vin Scully. Times data editor Doug Smith's Op-Ed article Tuesday musing on "the voice of L.A." closed with a question: "As far as I'm concerned, the voice of L.A. should be heard every day in some public place. So tell me, where would you want to hear Vin Scully?" 

The GOP pivots on the IRS scandal

The scandal surrounding the Internal Revenue Service's handling of applications for tax-exempt status by "tea party" groups and other right-leaning organizations took a sharp turn at the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday. In addition...Show More Summary

Corporate money in politics: Liberals vs. liberals on Prop. C

The Times editorial board offended some liberal readers when it urged a no vote on Proposition C, which asks voters in the city of Los Angeles to “instruct” local members of Congress to support a constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. One commenter asked: “Did the Koch Bros already buy the Times and I missed it?”

L.A. County's dilemma: What to do about dangerous dogs

The fatal attack on a woman walking in the Antelope Valley community of Littlerock by four pit bulls last week has prompted Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to ask the  county Department of Animal Care and Control to look into ways to better deal with the problem of vicious dogs prowling the streets.

Don't cry for Kanye's crashed Lambo -- or your small SUV

Don’t know why, but Thursday turned into car crash day.

Four insights to your health from L.A.'s public MD

Rall: Will California's Senate ban morons next?

The state Senate has approved an anti-"swatting" bill. Swatting is the act of pranksters who make false 911 calls in the hope of prompting a heavily armed police response, typically to the home of a celebrity.

Poll: The first firing of the IRS 'tea party' scandal

The scandal over the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special review claimed its first scalp Wednesday, when Treasury Secretary Jack Lew demanded and received the resignation of the agency's acting chief.

Sweat-free labels to change the garment trade [Blowback]

In a May 7 Op-Ed article, Richard Greenwald and Michael Hirsch exhort consumers to support the workers who make our clothes rather than the global apparel industry that exploits them with low wages and unsafe working conditions. Yet exactly how we should do this remains unclear. Show More Summary

Medical marijuana: Measure D still the best choice

Way at the bottom of Tuesday’s ballot are three confusing propositions -- Measures D, E and F -- that have to do with medical marijuana. Voters can’t be blamed if they feel frustrated and unsure of what to do when confronted by three alternative approaches to the same issue (two of which seem extremely similar). Show More Summary

New details -- good and bad -- from the IRS inspector general's report

A new report by the Internal Revenue Service's inspector general offered a few new details Tuesday about the scandal revolving around the IRS' treatment of "tea party" groups seeking tax-exempt status. Those details were in part damning and in part exculpatory. Show More Summary

Angelina Jolie and the fate of breast cancer genes

Angelina Jolie’s Op-Ed in the New York Times about getting a double mastectomy after learning that she was at risk of getting breast cancer struck a chord with fellow celebs as well as with Los Angeles Times staffers Anna Gorman and Paul Whitefield, who wrote about their own experiences Tuesday. 

Florida defection costs GOP another Latino leader

It seems that Republicans have long held out hope that Florida might be the state where the GOP could make inroads with Latino voters. However, any effort to woo Latinos was probably dealt a setback this week when Pablo Pantoja, the former GOP director of Latino outreach in Florida, announced he had changed party affiliation.

Angelina Jolie, the Supreme Court and gene patents

It's hard to imagine Supreme Court justices paying much attention to the travails of Hollywood's rich and famous. Still, there's an interesting connection between Angelina Jolie's disclosure Tuesday that she underwent a double mastectomy and a case the court is deliberating, the Assn. for Molecular Pathology vs. Myriad Genetics.

Outraged over IRS snooping scandal? Readers aren't

If the hand-wringing over revelations that the IRS gave additional scrutiny to "tea party" groups and other conservative organizations applying for tax-exempt status is as widespread as the coverage makes it seem, that anger hasn't spread to a place where outrage normally lives: The Times' mailbag.

Angelina Jolie and me -- a family history of cancer

I didn’t realize until now that Angelina Jolie and I have something in common: cancer. Or at least risk factors for it.

Nancy Daly and the road not yet taken

The PR spin on this book has been all about the “Hollywood insider,” and I suppose she was, having been married for so long to entertainment executive Bob Daly.