Commentary

Recently I had the misfortune to be in a Days Inn, and, on CNN, which I’d turned on for the sake of companionship, was non-stop coverage of the horrible things Ariel Castro had done to his captives in Ohio. When I turned to online news sources, I read updates on a limo fire that killed a Bay Area newlywed and four of her friends, …

Algebra was responsible for the first F I ever got.
While I was never a straight-A student, I wasn’t a screw-up either. But tell that to Mexican-immigrant parents who dropped out of school after first grade and took pride in seeing their offspring get the education they never had. I’ll never forget that dreadful parent-teacher conference after that seventh grade F, or the silence in …

Last week, the Orange County Grand Jury released a report suggesting the county create a blue-ribbon committee to fight local political corruption, citing 40 years of government scandals.
Some supervisors immediately fired back, saying it should be up to the media and to voters to hold government officials accountable. And the District Attorney’s office argued that it’s been vigilant in monitoring corruption.
Gustavo Arellano from the …

Back in the 1990s, a super fast-growing Orange County built a couple of toll roads.
Southern California is home to the free-way – as in free of charge. But this new concept was billed by boosters as a privately-funded solution to choking traffic problems.
A couple of decades later, rosy driver projections never materialized. And the authority that runs the toll roads is saddled with debt, …

No one is going to stop me from speaking the truth to power, and here’s a truth about power that a lot of people can’t handle: the attorney general of California is hot. Very hot.
But when the most powerful man in the world spoke the same truth last week about Kamala Harris—our “best-looking attorney general,” he called her—critics called him sexist, inappropriate, and wolfish.
Predictably, …

As Californians begin buying Powerball lottery tickets for the first time, the agency running it is coming under increasing criticism for the promotional campaign it used in the lead up to the game’s release.
The campaign, which has drawn Internet ire, uses iconic, historic images – all of which represent untold sacrifice and hard work – to sell the dream of winning the lottery.
At a …

Gene Maddaus (LA Weekly), Dakota Smith (LA Daily News) and I have talked a lot in recent weeks about how much the mayoral candidates are alike. Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti are both Democrats. They both espouse progressive views, to match the electorate each hopes to serve.

But until recently, the only difference highlighted between the two was the fact that Wendy Greuel seems to …

It’s opening day in a spruced-up Chavez Ravine, where the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the World Series-winning San Francisco Giants 4-0 in a sold-out match-up this afternoon.
The stadium has undergone about $100 million of improvements since last season. That’s means free Wi-Fi, bigger better bathrooms and new concessions.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis talked to Kevin Roderick of LA Observed about some of the changes.

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Last summer, the ACLU filed a lawsuit against Anaheim charging that the city’s at-large council elections excluded Latinos from electing their own and asked the courts to create voting by district.
The Democratic Party of Orange County just endorsed an eight-district proposal, while the Republican-dominated city council has largely mocked the idea.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis talks to Gustavo Arellano, editor of the OC Weekly, on efforts …

With the Los Angeles mayoral runoff weeks away, there’s another player in the campaign throwing his support for City Controller Wendy Greuel.
It’s not a union chief or some high-ranking city official. It’s former President Bill Clinton, who’s email was shared with donors and voters today.
KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with Kevin Roderick from LA Observed about the latest news from the mayor’s race.

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Late last year, the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau hired a new tourism chief. Jay Burress was brought in from Texas, of all places, to attract more visitors to Orange County.
Now how hard could that be? With beautiful beaches, Disneyland, and exclusive resorts, it can’t be too difficult.
But we wanted to go beyond the obvious attractions. And to do that we’ve brought in …

Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti, two long-time pro-labor Democrats, are suddenly competing over which of them will stand up to city-employee union demands. That’s one of the stories in the L.A. mayor’s race we talk about on tonight’s Friday Mixer. Joining Steve Choitakis are Gene Maddaus of the LA Weekly and Jim Rainey from the L.A. Times.
They discussed how both Greuel and Garcetti are …

Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad has reportedly partnered with investment banker and former L.A. Deputy Mayor Austin Beutner to make a bid for the Los Angeles Times.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the pair is mainly interested in the Times, though they would consider purchasing the block of Tribune Company newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, and the Hartford Courant, and …

Orange County Register owner Aaron Kushner has made national news for hiring reporters at a rapid rate, while most dailies continue to lay off staff.
But he also raised eyebrows by telling his staffers that he doesn’t believe in the old journalistic stand-by of “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.”
Well that doesn’t sit well with Gustavo Arellano of the OC Weekly, who joins KCRW’s …

Generations of Southern Californians have warmed themselves by the flickering light of the fire pits at the public beaches of Newport Beach. But now the city wants to eliminate them, calling the iconic devices a health hazard—and the South Coast Air Quality Management District might agree.
Standing in the city’s way, though, are beachgoers and the California Coastal Commission, who say the pits are an …

Today on All Things Considered, independent producer Gideon Brower bid farewell to Bahooka Family Restaurant in Rosemead. The tiki-themed restaurant will close its doors forever after service this Sunday, March 10th. Looking at the photo above, it’s no surprise that Bahooka was a cult favorite for decades. As Los Angeles Magazine’s Chris Nichols points out, “It’s so psychedelic that it makes complete sense that …

Last week, a blog called Friends for Fullerton’s Future mysteriously called it quits after four years. It became nationally renowned for its coverage of the Kelly Thomas killing.
It’s also recognized for not taking sides with either Republicans or Democrats, attacking both sides with equal venom.
Joining KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis with more is Gustavo Arellano of OC Weekly.

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With the Los Angeles mayoral primary just about a week away, there’s some last-minute campaigning going on.
But one of the issues that’s been largely missing from the campaign – at least hasn’t been talked about a whole lot – is traffic. As in all the Angelenos who get stuck in it way too often.
Kevin Roderick from LA Observed joins KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis, as he …

Disneyland this year announced it would no longer offer Southern California residents special discounts as it has throughout much of the past decade. Discounts for those people who live nearby, including those of us in Orange or L.A. Counties, to get a little break from at the gate.
The decision provoked a little teeth-gnashing among the faithful. Will it affect attendance at the resort in …

This past weekend, the annual Tet Parade took place in Little Saigon, in honor of the Vietnamese New Year.
But on the sidelines were gay and lesbian Vietnamese who made national news because organizers banned them from marching in the parade, citing “tradition.”
It’s the latest skirmish in a continuing battle between the elders and new generation in the nation’s largest Vietnamese community.
The OC Weekly’s Gustavo Arellano joined …