Politics

Question: For more than a decade, a faction of about 15 homeowners at our Oceanside association has rotated positions on the board, dominating all the other owners. One board member admitted that the association attorney advised them to “run as a slate” and gave them a preprinted card to read when they run. At each … Read more

With Lake Huron’s waters dancing behind him, Vice President Al Gore ran through the core of this year’s Democratic message: Save Medicare. Provide jobs. Increase education spending. It was the travel-worn stump speech he had delivered to dozens of audiences all year, served up again late last week during a Michigan campaign stop. Yet if … Read more

She is the go-to person in South Gate for investigators seeking paper trails of political corruption. Carmen Avalos, the no-nonsense city clerk, provides all documents, answers all questions, returns all phone calls. Yet she is the one who some say is being treated like a criminal. The political powers of this working-class city in recent … Read more

What science the Bush administration chooses to stifle or promote seems to be a matter of politics and economics. According to a recent story in the Washington Post, the multibillion-dollar baby formula industry pressured the Department of Health and Human Services to weaken a 2004 public-service campaign promoting breast-feeding — and it worked, even though … Read more

Antonio Villaraigosa romped past incumbent James K. Hahn to make history Tuesday, winning election as the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since the city’s pioneer days. Riding a huge wave of voter discontent, the challenger avenged his 2001 loss to Hahn, who possessed an iconic family name but never connected strongly with voters during … Read more

President Biden, pictured leaving a news conference at the White House on Wednesday, roiled diplomatic efforts to stop a Russian invasion of Ukraine by suggesting a “minor incursion” would not generate intense pushback. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) The White House on Thursday sought to clarify remarks by President Biden about the consequences of a … Read more

President Trump speaks at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum on May 4 in Dallas. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) President Trump castigated his attorney general this week for the recent indictments of two Republican congressmen, complaining in a tweet that the actions may further imperil his party’s chances in the November election. In so doing, the … Read more

Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland departs after speaking at the Justice Department on June 15. (Associated Press) When President Trump left Washington last January after losing his noisy battle to overturn the 2020 election, it was tempting to heave a sigh of relief and rejoice that the guardrails of democracy had held. But there was a … Read more

When Hillary Clinton parachuted into Los Angeles recently, some of the well-heeled donors who swarmed her brought unsolicited campaign advice, while others brought ambitions of White House appointments. Susie Tompkins Buell brought a bag of dry-roasted chickpeas. It was fitting that Buell, a wealthy San Franciscan who ranks near the top of the sprawling national … Read more

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom addresses the California Democratic Party Convention in Anaheim. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In his first five years as California’s lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom made more than $4 million from his wineries, restaurants, hotels and other hospitality businesses. And that’s on top of his government salary, which is $142,577 a … Read more