Social Policy

May Day March In Downtown L.A. Today

It's May Day, people. And if you don't know what time it is, it means that it's a worker's holiday for marching, fist-pumping and screwing up traffic. While the May Day marches of yesteryear were massive, we expect they've simmered down (now). Still, labor and immigrants' rights activists are fired ... More >>

LAUSD School Board District 4 Election: Absentee Ballot Results Show Steve Zimmer Leading Kate Anderson

With just under 24,000 absentee ballots counted by the city clerk, incumbent Steve Zimmer has a significant 16-point lead over challenger Kate Anderson. Zimmer has tried as best he can to hold the middle ground between the teachers union and the reformers. But middle grounds are hard to come by in ... More >>

Tuberculosis Outbreak's Federal Help In DTLA Could Be Hampered By Sequester

Federal health officials planning to help out with a Skid Row tuberculosis outbreak might be foiled by the federal budget impasse. That according to Los Angeles County's director of public health Jonathan Fielding, who told reporters today that the federal "sequester" that would impose deep cuts on ... More >>

Mayoral Candidate Kevin James and Education Reformers Speak Out About Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel's Silence on Parent Trigger

UPDATE, 5 p.m.: Eric Garcetti breaks silence on Parent Trigger. After the jump. UPDATE, 4 p.m.: Wendy Greuel tells L.A. Weekly she supports the Parent Trigger. Eric Garcetti is now the only mayoral candidate who remains to be silent. After the jump. After Los Angeles Unified School District board ... More >>

Los Angeles Unified School District Approves Historic Parent Trigger, L.A. Mayoral Candidates Weigh In Or Stay Mum

Elected board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District -- the second largest public school system in the country -- unanimously approved a Parent Trigger for the 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams. It's a first for L.A. Unified, and Los Angeles mayoral candidates are weighing in o ... More >>

Antonio Villaraigosa Led The Way On Education Reform, But His Potential Successors Are Reluctant To Pick Up The Torch

For the last eight years, education reformers have had a staunch ally in the L.A. mayor's office. From the start of his administration, Antonio Villaraigosa showed he was willing to fight the teachers' unions, and to pay a political price for it.But in a few months, Villaraigosa will be gone. And at ... More >>

Dream Act, Drivers Licenses for Illegals Opposed by Majority of Californians

The California Dream Act, which gives undocumented people who came to the United States as children in-state tuition at state colleges, isn't favored by a majority of California voters. Neither is the renewed drive to let illegal immigrants obtain California drivers licenses. That doesn't mean you ... More >>

Gail Anderson, Ex-Chief at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Sues County for Humiliating Him in the Times

Well, this is bizarre: The former chief medical officer of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (a giant Torrance hospital run by the county) was paid over $400,000 to sit in his lavish Manhattan Beach home for the last year. That's because Gail Anderson was unofficially fired by the L.A. County Department o ... More >>

VIDEO: Occupy L.A. Breaks Back Into Foreclosed Home of Blanca Cardenas, Deported L.A. Immigrant

Things got pretty rowdy at the foreclosed North Hollywood home of undocumented immigrant Blanca Cardenas (and her U.S. citizen family, including two small children) on Monday night. Occupy L.A. protesters, who have been rallying against both the Bank of America foreclosure and Cardenas' resulting ... More >>

New Health Department Policy Lets Dogs on Patios, Still Not on Chairs

For dog owners who have nice, well-behaved pups, going out to eat with your pack just got a little bit easier: a new Los Angeles County Public Health policy grants restaurants with outside dining areas with the authority to decide whether to give dogs a seat at the foot of the table. As the Dail ... More >>

Illegal Immigrants Beware: L.A. Sheriff's Deputies Can Now Run Your Fingerprints in the Field

The L.A. Sheriff's Department is busting with pride over its brand-new fleet of "state-of-the-art mobile data computers" -- the first of which are now installed in the patrol vehicles of a few lucky deputies. In some ways, the computers are an overdue boot into the 21st century. Turns out deputies ... More >>

Progressives Find Religion on LAUSD Reform

Is this finally the tipping point in turning around LAUSD schools?

Criticism of Porn's HIV Scare Sparks Outrage at Manwin, the Adult Video Juggernaut That Employed Performer in Question

mofos.com​Updated at the bottom with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's response. First posted at 5:09 p.m. The company that employed a porn star who might be HIV-positive today said the man did not continue to work, nor did he work with other performers, after a test indicated he might have th ... More >>

Juan P. Garcia-Machado, Illegal Immigrant and SDSU Student, Is Reportedly Employed by State Capitol, Has Advised Politicians

LinkedInJuan P. Garcia Machado​Looks like the California government can now be added to the list of employers who have hired illegal immigrants. The employee's name is Juan P. Garcia-Machado, a San Diego State University student set to graduate in 2012. And from the looks of his NBC LA profil ... More >>

ICE Raids L.A. Home for Drugs; Finding None, Agents Allegedly Beat Up Bonilla Family, Try to Deport Them

CHIRLAMrs. Bonilla says she can no longer sleep at night.​Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids are sudden, devastating -- yet over in a flash, and difficult to trace. A Twitter scare last month set Union Station a-scatter at the mere suggestion that feds were checking IDs. Still, i ... More >>

DREAM Act Approved by California State Assembly: If Bill Can Make It Through Senate, Governor Jerry Brown Has Promised to Pass It

​At long last, a small victory for the softest of the pro-immigration bills. The California State Assembly approved the DREAM Act today by a landslide 46-25 vote -- legislation that would allow illegal immigrants who have, against all odds, earned their way into state universities, a chance to ... More >>

Gloria Romero: Watching Out for the Kids

Arizona Lawmakers Propose Immigration Checks of Hospital Patients

​As if Arizona doesn't have enough of a reputation as a right-wing wasteland, Republican lawmakers there want to expand its controversial immigration law to include papers checks of, well, you know, Mexican-looking people, at local hospitals. Its immigration law -- the yet-to-be enacted legis ... More >>

Dirty Storm Waters Foul L.A. Coast: Beach-Goers Told to Stay Away From Drain Pipes, Creeks, Rivers

You've been warned.​It's the sad underbelly of the beach lifestyle stereotype that gives Southern California some of its glow: We're some dirty bastards. And while we've done a good job of keeping beach water fairly clean in the summer months (thanks Heal the Bay and Surfrider Foundation), th ... More >>

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Calls Shooting Of Ariz. Congresswoman Giffords 'Senseless'

Suspect Jared Loughner.​L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reacted to Saturday's shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others at a Tucson supermarket, saying the violence was "senseless." Six people, including a 9-year-old, were killed, and 13 others, including Gifford, sur ... More >>

The Number Of People Seeking Treatment For Marijuana Addiction More Than Doubled In California

Angelic medicine, or the devil on your shoulder?​Marijuana might be medicine in California, but an alarming number of pot "patients" have ended up looking for the antidote to cannabis addiction. According to a recently released U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report (PDF), the th ... More >>

Asian, Latino Voters Are Less Liberal -- But Not When It Comes To Republican Whores

Image de DenverDid I forget to tell them how much I hate Arizona?​Not shockingly, the Republican candidates of California are in a state of confusion after the ransacking they received on Election Day 2010. They can't understand why, when Latinos and Asian-Americans report being politically l ... More >>

Halloween Contestants Poke Fun at Meg Whitman's Anti-Dream Act Stance

Jose EsquivelJuana Noriega, of Los Angeles, won't let Meg Whitman "kill" her dreams​ Meg Whitman haters gathered at downtown 's Placita Olvera for some early Halloween fun by hosting a "Meg the Dream Killer" costume contest that takes a swipe at the gubernatorial hopeful's immigrant-bashing po ... More >>

Joey Chestnut Eats 47 Burritos

Major League EatingJoey Chestnut​Maybe there's a special clause in President Obama's health care plan for competitive eaters. Let's hope so, for Joey Chestnut's sake. Chestnut, the competitive eater who won the hot dog title for the fourth year in a row in July, has now won the burrito title. ... More >>

Behzad Zaman, Beverly Hills Resident, Helped Overseas Prostitutes Obtain Student Visas

​His schools, the Concord English Language Center and the International College For English Studies, had registered way more students than they had room for, leading authorities to suspect Behzad "Ben" Zaman was up to something fishy. Indeed, the 52-year-old from Beverly Hills was sentenced t ... More >>

Asylum Denied

Unlike refugees from other troubled countries, only a fraction of Mexicans seeking U.S. asylum are accepted – no matter how horrible their wounds or their stories

Over the Weekend: Rage Against The Machine's Immigrant Rights Benefit at the Palladium

Timothy NorrisRage Against Arizona's Controversial Legislation​[For more photos check out Timothy Norris' slideshow,"Rage Against The Machine's Immigrant Rights Benefit @ Palladium."] With all the turmoil and wrongdoing in the world, it's a wonder Rage Against the Machine ever left the stage. ... More >>

A Week Of Protest In L.A. As Demonstrators Decry Arizona's Immigration Law, Set To Take Effect Thursday

​Activists decrying Arizona's controversial immigration law will hold banners on bridges spanning the 101 freeway downtown during the afternoon commute Monday. The group calls itself "We Are All Arizona" and will be in action on the Broadway Avenue, Spring Street and Grand Avenue overpasses to ... More >>

LAPD Officers In Arizona This Week Despite Los Angeles City Boycott Over Immigration Law

​Despite the Los Angeles City Council's economic and travel boycott of Arizona over its controversial illegal immigration law (SB1070), four Los Angeles police air-unit officers went to Tucson anyway for law enforcement training. Though funding for the conference was denied by city leaders, th ... More >>

Subway Says Sorry About the Salmonella

Flickr/Simon ShekThe tomatoes, onions and bell peppers are sickening suspects. ​ The Subway sandwich chain has apologized for a Salmonella outbreak in central Illinois that has sickened nearly 100 people ages 2 to 79, Reuters reports. The company said it is working with public health officials ... More >>

U.S. Mayors Pass Villaraigosa's Resolution Condemning Arizona Immigration Law

​A resolution by L.A. leader Antonio Villaraigosa urging Arizona to repeal its controversial immigration law was passed this week at the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Villaraigosa's document, which called the desert state's legislation "unconstitutional and un-American," also encouraged federal i ... More >>

Steve Poizner Joins L.A. Supervisor Antonovich To Express Support For Arizona Immigration Law

Mike Antonovich.​Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Poizner joined Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich at a press conference Wednesday to support Arizona's controversial immigration law and to decry the county's recent vote to boycott the state. Antonovich argued that the boyc ... More >>

Dodgers Drawn Into Immigration Fray; Anti-Arizona Rally Planned Near Dodger Stadium

​An immigrants' rights group plans to hold a rally and press conference Wednesday to urge the Los Angeles Dodgers to denounce Arizona's controversial undocumented-migrant law when the Arizona Diamondbacks visit Chavez Ravine May 31. The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles pl ... More >>

Are Latinos Disappointed With Obama?

State Sen. Gil Cedillo.​Los Angeles-based state Sen. Gil Cedillo, one of President Obama's early campaign supporters, says he's disappointed with president so far, and that he's not alone among Latinos. Cedillo says there are some hard feelings surrounding Obama's promise during his presiden ... More >>

Immigration Town Hall Meeting Focuses On California's Congressional Leaders

​In it's quest to light a fire under the Obama administration on the issue, the Reform Immigration For America Campaign is planning a big town hall meeting in the Los Angeles area next week, with Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Henry Waxman and Congressman Xavier Becerra on its list of inv ... More >>

Legalizing Illegal Immigrants Would Goose Economy, Professor Argues

UCLARaul Hinojosa-Ojeda.​There's perennial talk of how illegal immigrants take jobs from American citizens and burden taxpayer-funded institutions like public hospitals and schools. But one UCLA professor says that's all wrong: Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda, UCLA associate professor of Chicano studies, ... More >>

Settlement in Federal Immigrant Jail Suit

Most Angelenos never see the Brezhnevian Federal Building on Los Angeles Street. Fewer still have had a reason to brave the long security line to get inside, much less to visit its underground detention center. The latter's six holding pens, known, in affectionate governmentspeak as "B-18," are wher ... More >>

Cheap Mexican Labor? Marry a Teenage Mexicana

Can America Stop the Reconquista?

Special April Fool’s Day edition

Broken Sanctuary

Did Elvira Arellano need to martyr herself?

Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid.

Immigration bill looks a lot like The Fly

A Brown Day in L.A.

Mayor V. faces global immigration issues — and angry farmers

Minutemen vs. Bush's Moderate Side

Republicans are fighting among themselves over immigration. Will Democrats have a voice?

Recall's Side Effects

The frantic push to get a health insurance bill to Davis in what could be his final days in office

The Well-Behaved Epidemic

Tough Roe to Hoe

Who will fight the next battle for choice?

Tainted Thinking

Drug tests: A class ritual

Waving the Waiver

It’s nonsense to send people with colds to ER

SHYLOCK 2000

Immigrant Workers

The law that keeps them chained