Full disclosure: I was raised Methodist and I believe that our household never neglected the true spirit and meaning of this season of celebration. With that established, I’m concerned that 2010 was a year in […]

It’s easy enough to say the mess that is this state’s budget has little impact on ordinary Californians other than furloughed state employees or many of the elderly and infirm who have lost government-paid in-home […]

Big changes are coming to Santa Monica’s Downtown District. The Exposition Light Rail (Expo) is on schedule to open 2015. The City has just completed a deal to secure the property between Fourth and Fifth […]

Like thousands of people in our region, I visited the LA Auto Show this past month. The LA Auto Show is unique as the international showcase for new hybrid and electric vehicles. This year, the […]

Back in his very first term, Gov.-elect Jerry Brown often used clichés old and new to make his points. University professors who sought pay raises didn’t need them as much as some other people because […]

I doubt that anybody is planting their blinking reindeer out in the front yard timed to when I write my annual column about sensible holiday gifts, but here it is anyway. If anything I’m a […]

Dear President Obama, I have a suggestion: why don’t you close down 50 US Military bases on foreign soil over the next five years – assuming you’re re-elected in 2012. Said reduction of 50 bases […]

A few weeks ago I found myself on a phone call that had taken a sudden serious turn. A friend was struggling with having recently been cited for DUI, and I was sharing various adventures […]

Suddenly, there may be a solid link between two of the greatest American political debates of the past decade – illegal immigration and climate change. Until now, the only connections between these two hyper-contentious policy […]

I wish I could time travel, sit with Arcadia Bandin on the porch of her home on Ocean Avenue, and talk about her life. I would tell her that her gifts to the city have […]