The arrest of the Grim Sleeper, the serial killer who prayed on prostitutes in South L.A. for most of the 1980’s, brought back bad memories for a part of L.A. that had been plagued with drug-fueled lawlessness in the darkest days of the 80’s. Plagued by the crack cocaine epidemic, witness to the rise of [...]
In 2007 Los Angeles County started up a new program with the goal of taking a different look and a different approach to the persistent problem of chronic homelessness in Southern California. The program was “Project 50,” which would identify the 50 most vulnerable and needy members of L.A.’s homeless population through a series of [...]
Imagine spending the summer in Phoenix, Arizona without air conditioning—sounds miserable, doesn’t it? That’s probably why the population of Phoenix was 100,000 in 1950. It is currently 4.3 million. In his book Losing our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World, writer Stan Cox looks at the impact of air conditioning and steps we can [...]
Wow! What do you do with these high powered figures in Hollywood? Roman Polanski managed to duck extradition on a rape charge, Oliver Stone’s been accused of anti-Semitism, and Mel Gibson and Lindsay … well, what else can you say about Mel Gibson and Lindsay Lohan? So here’s a conundrum… when you watch a re-run [...]
When Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed SB 1070 in April, the divisive battle over immigration reform was reignited nationwide. The controversial law, which gives local police tough immigration enforcement powers, was set to go into effect today. But now its future is unclear. Portions of it, including some of the most controversial provisions, are now [...]
One of the most criticized laws in America is about to get reformed. Congress passed a bill Wednesday that would reduce the disparities between mandatory minimum sentences for crack and powdered cocaine violations, a law some have considered blatantly racist and unfairly harsh punishments imposed, mainly on blacks. Even the Obama administration has called the [...]
The most controversial parts of Arizona's immigration law, SB 1070, will not go into effect tomorrow. Judge Susan Bolton's injunction does not stop the law as a whole from being implemented. On what grounds did she temporarily strip provisions from the law that would have required police to check the immigration status of people stopped, [...]
What can 12,500 plastic bottles do for you? How about a boat that travels around the world in (more than) 80 days! The Plastiki catamaran, made from plastic bottles and recyclable products, ended its 8,000 mile, 4-month voyage on Monday as it docked in Sydney, Australia. The six crew members, including environmentalist David de Rothschild [...]
While the periodic table may evoke groans from high school chemistry students, there’s a whole other side to the 118 elements that’s not going to burn your skin. “Alice in Wonderland’s” Mad Hatter and many milliners were truly crazy from their overexposure to mercury. That pesky cadmium that’s in McDonald’s toys and Miley Cyrus jewelry [...]
Researchers at Boston University are looking for a genetic link for Alzheimer’s. As part of this work, they studied 100-year-olds who show no signs of the disease. But, in the midst of their studies, they came across an even more interesting discovery—apparently; centenarians all share a group of genes that grants them their unusual longevity. [...]
