Opinion

Janet Napolitano: Why I'm suing the Trump administration over DACA

Don't bend California's environmental rules for billionaire sports owners or the Olympics

Why won't the U.S. use its full sanction power against North Korea?

Feinstein, a Catholic nominee and a dogma that didn't bark

A DACA student speaks: 'I feel like I have to go back into hiding'

Leslie Van Houten committed an act of terrorism. She should stay behind bars

The Israel litmus-test and scholarly freedom

America cannot afford to lose 800,000 young 'Dreamers'

Trump’s words reveal his favorite subject is himself

Worldly politics, not heavenly powers, inspire evangelicals to stick with Trump

Republicans are asking a horrific question: Is our president insane?

Sean Hannity hits a right note in a discordant time

Housing prices run middle-class buyers out of Los Angeles

To the editor: Thanks once again for Steve Lopez’s skill in showcasing issues that confront regular folks. The reality for most of us who live in L.A. is that housing is unaffordable. (“Bye-bye Silver Lake, hello Pacoima: How one couple tackled L.A.'s sky-high real estate prices,” Sept. 2) One...

We know which companies sell clothes made by sweatshop workers. Consumers should shop accordingly

To the editor: To think that in California, one of the most progressive states, there are still apparel makers that pay sweatshop wages to their workers — when I believed that by raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, Californians were doing the right thing — is heartbreaking. (“Behind...

Trump has the right idea on DACA: Immigration law is written by Congress, not the president

To the editor: You have it all wrong in your headline and first paragraph, but you have it right at the end. (“Ending DACA was an act of pure cruelty by Trump,” editorial, Sept. 5) Dealing with millions of people here illegally is not about “fear of immigrants,” it is about effectively controlling...

The U.S. should lead by example on North Korea and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

To the editor: We should try talks with North Korea starting by getting that country to stop nuclear testing. (“North Korea’s nukes call for concerted action, not loose talk,” editorial, Sept. 6) Every nuclear test by North Korea brings its regime closer to perfecting a weapon that could reach...

Trump's three-for-one deal to avert a shutdown and a default is welcome, if imperfect

The bizarre debate over whether ‘Dreamers’ are kids or adults

Want to keep the A/C on during the heat wave? Then, for heaven's sake, turn something else off

Feinstein says she hopes Trump will improve; outrage ensues

Meeting Diana, the Princess of Wales, only made me more fascinated by her

White people, be like Ed Skrein. Stop apologizing for a lack of diversity and do something about it

L.A. is park poor. So why is one of the most beautiful green spaces in the city locked behind a fence?

Take a virtual ride and decide: Is it safe to bike to work in Los Angeles?

This just in from the West Side: Who knew a nightmare election would wind up being such a gas?

The unthinkable is in the air in Santa Monica: “You have to admit,” people whisper, “this is a lot more fun than if Hillary had won.” Putting aside North Korean nukes aimed at Pixar, the hushed response is: “Yeah, I love it.” Nov. 8, 2016, made for a tough road back to Pacific standard pleasure,...

If teenagers get more sleep, California could gain billions

Sleep deprivation among teenagers should be regarded as a public health epidemic. Only about 40% of teenagers get the eight to 10 hours of sleep a night recommended by sleep scientists and pediatricians. A major reason teens aren’t getting enough sleep isn’t hormones, their busy social lives, too...

Republicans may try to trade 'Dreamers' amnesty for comprehensive immigration reform — but it won't work

When Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions announced the cancellation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program this week, he said that President Trump would give Congress time to legalize the 800,000 undocumented immigrants known as “Dreamers.” Sessions also mentioned that he has “worked closely...

Here's a solution to the DACA crisis: Pass a Dream Act. And soon

President Trump’s decision to end protections for immigrants who have been living illegally in the country since they were children was heartless, cynical and counterproductive. But there is one simple way for the damage to be undone: Congress should acknowledge its obligations to the 800,000 young...

When is human rights hero Aung San Suu Kyi going to act like one?

The Rohingya Muslim minority of Myanmar has long suffered discrimination, persecution and violence. But as a new horrific wave of brutality has swept over Rakhine state, where most of the country’s Rohingya live in poverty, the question that has been asked over and over must now be shouted: When...

North Korea's nukes call for concerted action, not loose talk

Seeking to capitalize on a chorus of condemnation of North Korea’s latest nuclear test, the Trump administration rightly has been trying to rally international support for additional sanctions, while moving to reassure South Korea of U.S. support for its security. Unfortunately, President Trump...

My kids are out of college, but I still have diapers in my earthquake kit. Houston has a message for me

A week and a half ago I went down the walk to get the newspaper and found water squirting out the wall of the garage. It came right through the stone foundation, as if one of the rocks had sprung a leak. I went in, and my office — one corner of the garage — was taking on water. My neighbors yelled...

Don't let California's housing crisis get worse. Lawmakers need to act on these bills

California’s housing crisis is eroding the quality of life in the Golden State. Rising rents and house prices are forcing Californians to spend more of their paychecks to keep a roof over their heads. Among renters, 1 in 3 pays more than half his income to his landlord, leaving little money for...

Ending DACA would be mean-spirited and shortsighted – even for Trump

A decision on the fate of DACA is due Tuesday. Ending the program would arguably be the most mean-spirited and shortsighted of the Trump administration’s many anti-immigrant actions. On the campaign trail, candidate Donald Trump attacked the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program as an...

Advice for student protesters: Fly, don't drive

A humble proposal for student activists as the new academic year gets underway: Fly, don’t drive. Here’s what I mean. Following highly publicized plane crashes or hijackings, many people are tempted to drive rather than fly if they have the option. The impulse is irrational — you’re far more likely...

Get ready for the next round in the battle over the Vietnam War

There are two Vietnam wars, and the second is still going 40 years after the first ended. The United States fought the first one from 1959 to 1975 in the jungles, villages and airspace of Indochina. The second is the war over how that war, the first lost war in America’s national history, is remembered....

Can poetry save your life?

I am a child sitting at my wooden flip-top desk in my fourth-grade classroom listening to Miss Hudson read “The Road Not Taken,” Robert Frost’s poem about two paths and a crossroad. Miss Hudson is in love with literature. She gestures madly as she recites the verse, revealing the sweat rings on...

What Katrina taught me: A hurricane's wounds can be treated but never healed

Every year I tell myself I’m over Hurricane Katrina, and every year I’m wrong. This year I got a double reminder that Katrina’s wounds can be treated but never healed. First, in early August, a “rain event” flooded numerous New Orleans neighborhoods. Parts of the city were inaccessible. Two African...

If you listen closely, you can hear Trump's tax plan shrinking

Tax cuts are the centerpiece of President Trump’s economic agenda. That’s how he’ll deliver on his promise to create “millions” of new jobs and restore manufacturing in the heartland, he says. But for Republicans in Congress, after their failure to repeal President Obama’s healthcare law, tax reform...

A hasty, headline-driven hate-crimes bill

Last month’s “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., was a sickening spectacle that ended in a horrific act of violence when a driver crashed into a group of counter-protesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring 19 others. It’s not surprising that those events are reverberating nationwide,...

Houston's floods are a warning for California to shore up its water systems. The good news: We're getting started.

Southern Californians have to prepare for earthquakes and drought, but thankfully we will never have to deal with Houston-type flooding. Or will we? Like Houston, Los Angeles is built on a floodplain. The whole reason the Los Angeles River is encased in concrete is to protect against the kind of...

A win for majority rule on local finances

In California, it takes just a simple majority of voters to elect a mayor, a governor or even a member of Congress. But it requires a supermajority — two-thirds of the vote — to pass a local tax to fund a specific program, such as street repairs, parks or libraries. This disparity is due to Proposition...

How great are the 2017 Dodgers?

When Rich Hill lost his no-hitter, and the game, in the 10th inning last week against the Pittsburgh Pirates, it was a rare setback for the 2017 Dodgers, who are having what could be a historic year. After 131 games, the team’s record stands at 91-40, for a winning percentage of .695. That projects...

No more secret surveillance technology in local law enforcement

In California today, a police or sheriff’s department could buy a fleet of drones or a set of surveillance cameras to monitor the community its employees have sworn to protect, yet not tell anyone — not even the local government. The secrecy, law enforcement officials argue, is crucial to the effectiveness...

Yes, ExxonMobil misled the public

In late August, we published the first academic analysis of ExxonMobil’s 40-year history of communications on climate change. We published our findings in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal and made our method and evidence transparent and auditable by publishing 121 pages of supplementary materials...

What would it take to persuade you to buy an electric car?

Even with up to $10,000 in federal and state incentives, only 4% of car buyers in California chose electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles last year. That’s a huge problem in a state with rising greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles, and with a goal to more than quadruple the number of zero-emissions...

Latinos are disproportionately affected by asthma, and Trump's policies are making it worse

Many Americans live where it is unsafe to breathe. About 40% of the U.S. population — more than 126 million people — live in areas that do not comply with national ambient air quality standards. This public health problem poses a particular threat to Latinos, who are exposed disproportionately...

California's Supreme Court is wrong: Voters want to make it hard — not easy — to raise taxes

The California Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that tax limitations imposed by Proposition 218 in 1996 don’t cover taxes enacted by ballot initiatives. Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar wrote in the majority opinion that unlike Ulysses, who in Homer’s “Odyssey” tied himself to the mast to avoid the...

Save water, save energy, save California

California’s lengthy drought has prompted state, regional and local officials to take a series of steps in recent years to restrict water use. One of the first measures lawmakers adopted was an urban conservation plan to ensure that future consumption in California’s cities would not outstrip a...

Diana 20 years later: Still rubbernecking

Princess Diana has been a staple of headlines for so long that articles and documentaries marking the 20th anniversary of her death may seem unremarkable. But the coverage is more than a stream of TV shows and newspaper and magazine special editions. It’s a meta reminder of the extremes that media...

Why hasn't Rex Tillerson resigned?

President Trump’s top lieutenants are going rogue again. Last weekend, his secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, refused to say whether Trump’s statements about violence in Charlottesville, Va., reflected American values. Trump’s chief economic aide, Gary Cohn, suggested that the president was wrong...

Bringing parental leave benefits to more workers

California state law guarantees that new parents, biological or adoptive, can take 12 weeks off from work to care for their babies without worrying about losing their health care or having a job when they are ready to come back. But here’s the catch: These benefits are available only to parents...

As Sessions fails to curb police misconduct and draconian prosecution, states step up

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s lawsuit to revamp Chicago policing, filed Tuesday, is timely and welcome — and is the latest in a notable line of actions that other states and localities should take as models for pursuing justice in an era of federal retreat. Madigan sued the city of Chicago...

Want to build housing for homeless people faster? Here's how

Now that the city of Los Angeles has set aside more than a billion dollars to fund housing for the homeless, let’s get it built faster. Under last year’s Proposition HHH, $1.2 billion will be raised to build 10,000 units of housing over the next decade — mostly permanent supportive housing for...

The 'Night Stalker' taught Orange County you can't master plan away the darker elements of human nature

In the summer of 1985, Richard Ramirez — dubbed the Night Stalker by news media — terrorized Southern California. He drove the L.A. Basin freeways, pulled into suburban neighborhoods, climbed through open windows and killed men and women in their homes. If you lived in Southern California then,...

Extend last call to 4 a.m. in California? We'll drink to that

Last call in California is 2 a.m. That’s when bars, restaurants, nightclubs and any other businesses licensed for on-site liquor sales are legally bound to stop serving alcohol, and that’s when most of those establishments close for the night. Why 2 a.m.? That’s just the way it’s been in California...

Stop the next Wells Fargo scandal before it happens

What’s the biggest criminal enterprise in California? MS-13? The remnants or successors to the Crips and the Bloods? The Mexican Mafia? If we’re talking about the sheer volume of offenses, the answer is clear: Wells Fargo. It’s no easy task to keep track of the San Francisco-based megabank’s misdeeds,...

The ACLU's free speech stance should be about social justice, not 'timeless' principles

The American Civil Liberties Union has been much scrutinized since its decision to represent white supremacists in their quest to march in Charlottesville, Va. Board members have resigned and allies have declared that the ACLU, at long last, has gone too far. In the aftermath, the ACLU of California...

Harvey should be a warning to Trump that climate change is a global threat

As rains fell and floodwaters rose in Houston, President Trump took to Twitter with an “oh, gosh” tweet: “Wow - Now experts are calling #Harvey a once in 500 year flood! We have an all out effort going, and going well!” How refreshing it is when the president directs our attention to the words...

Without unions, our middle class is vanishing. Without a middle class, we don't have democracy

UFW's Dolores Huerta: As a new documentary about her opens, her civil rights battles are still being waged.

Skynet began destroying humanity 20 years ago today. It shares a disturbing number of qualities with Trump

Twenty years ago today, Skynet, the fictional artificial intelligence network and antagonist of the “Terminator” movie franchise, became self-aware. In the films, a Silicon Valley tech company built the network of supercomputers for the U.S. military to replace the humans who control America’s...

Ending DACA would upend the dreams of a generation of immigrants without fixing a thing

It would be coldhearted indeed if President Trump were to end the Obama administration’s policy of not deporting immigrants who were brought illegally to the United States as children. Yes, illegal immigration is a problem; yes, the United States has the right to control who comes in and out of...

Violent demonstrators in Berkeley are thugs, not activists

There can be no justification for the violence perpetrated on Sunday by a group of leftist protesters who attacked supporters of President Trump and others Sunday during an otherwise peaceful “rally against hate” in Berkeley. Whether they are described as “black bloc” or anarchists — the nomenclature...

How Houston can prevent Harvey-like disasters in the future

An unprecedented amount of rain has fallen on the Houston area in the last few days, causing what’s likely the worst flooding event that the nation’s sixth-largest metropolitan area has ever experienced — even worse than 2001’s Tropical Storm Allison. This may seem like a freak occurrence. But...

Hell and high water in Houston — a reason to set aside differences and unite to help

When it comes to politics and policy, Democratic California and Republican Texas often find themselves on opposite sides. Sometimes the rivalry seems almost personal, as when Texas’ governor came to the Golden State to try to poach some of our big employers, or when lawmakers in Sacramento banned...