Los Angeles Times City Beat

27/10/2021

12/06/2021

I don't have to leave my block to encounter unvaccinated people every day. They're my neighbors across the street, around the corner. Some don't trust the vaccines. Some have other reasons. I worry for them as California reopens. My latest:

COVID-19 news is good in California now, but as the state opens up, I fear for the unvaccinated holdouts.

05/06/2021

Need some inspiration to leave your car parked and take a bus or a train instead? Meet Kenny Uong, an L.A. public transit superfan, who had memorized every route in our transit system by the time he was 10. I hope you'll take the time to read my latest column and learn Kenny's story.

Still in college, Kenny Uong is one of L.A.'s foremost public transit system authorities. He memorized all the routes by the time he was 10. Now he wants to make them better.

29/05/2021

Did you know that the number of people who receive food from the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank each week tripled during the pandemic, to 900,000? Or that it's still at that record-high level?

So many problems exacerbated by the pandemic won't just go away as masks come down. Food insecurity is one of them. It's the subject of my latest column:

Many Angelenos are still going hungry and turning to food banks in record numbers, even as people look toward the end of the pandemic.

22/05/2021

My latest column is a very personal one — about the kind of pandemic loss that doesn’t make it into the statistics. I hope you’ll read it.

Before the pandemic, my mother-in-law was feisty and outgoing. When we recently reunited after a shut-in year, I was floored by the scope of her loss.

01/05/2021

It’s a humble Hollywood alley. You might not give it a second look. Unless someone told you that 3 of Hollywood’s all-time greats appeared in it in 3 of their greatest films. My latest column, out this morning:

In an unnamed and unheralded alley just south of Hollywood Boulevard, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton filmed scenes in some of their greatest films. It deserves recognition.

24/04/2021

Contrary to cliche, Los Angeles is loaded with great history. We have to fight to keep the places that matter. My latest column:

The Cinerama Dome, the Munch Box hamburger stand, the church where Aretha sang "Amazing Grace." These are among hundreds of official L.A. landmarks. You can do your part to add to the list.

17/04/2021

Why I think it’s essential to save the ArcLight Hollywood and the Cinerama Dome — for Hollywood the neighborhood, for Hollywood the business, for Los Angeles. My latest column:

The ArcLight Hollywood with its Cinerama Dome means a great deal to Hollywood the neighborhood. Here's hoping for a rescue that saves it but doesn't try to reinvent something that works.

10/04/2021

In L.A. people are beginning to emerge from their pandemic cocoons. My latest column is out this morning. I hope you’ll give it a read. And if you read it online, look out for the spot where you can sign up to get an email from me each time I write something new. I hope you’ll sign up to be one of my regulars. ♥️

Around Los Angeles, people are emerging from their pandemic cocoons, eager to be cooped up no longer.

03/04/2021

She’s a performance artist. She was supposed to go on tour. She never meant to oversee a mask-making empire. But one thing led to another last March when Kristina Wong offered to make anyone who needed one a mask. I hope you’ll read my latest column, about the amazing Auntie Sewing Squad.

Also: You will see in the online story a place to sign up to get an email each time a new column of mine goes live. I would love it if you signed up. ♥️

A year ago, performance artist Kristina Wong started a Facebook group called the Auntie Sewing Squad to get people to help sew COVID-19 masks.

23/03/2021

My latest column, by the way, has a place to sign up within it to get an email alert and link each time I've got a new column. I'll start sending those emails to my list next Saturday. It would make me so happy if you would sign up.

Just scroll down and you'll see the promo to sign up for the alerts. And if you haven't read the column yet, I hope you will while you're there. It's a fun one, I think, and almost all the links I put in it take you to cartoons.

Last March, Gary Handman drew the first of what would add up to 365 cartoons to mark each day of the COVID-19 pandemic. His daily offerings grew to become his "Journal of the Plague Year."

20/03/2021

It was the start of the pandemic. Gary Handman was "bored and scared." So he started drawing cartoons on his iPad -- 1 for each day of the year. I really hope you enjoy my latest column. Click on the links as you go. I put in a lot of them -- linked to the cartoons I'm describing -- to enhance your viewing pleasure.

Last March, Gary Handman drew the first of what would add up to 365 cartoons to mark each day of the COVID-19 pandemic. His daily offerings grew to become his "Journal of the Plague Year."

13/03/2021

Need a shot in the arm? Read my column about Southern Californians who are volunteering to find people COVID-19 vaccine appointments. What they have to say about why and what it means to them is worth a few minutes of your time, I think. And knowing they are out there might just cheer you up.

Around Southern California, many people are helping others get their COVID-19 vaccination appointments. A veterinarian, a high school senior, a caring neighbor — they say they want to do their part to end the pandemic.

06/03/2021

When I asked readers to tell me about LA people who do great good for others, they delivered in a big way. The hundreds of emails I’ve been reading are heartening.

When asked to name people they know who do great good for others, readers responded in a big way in hundreds of emails.

20/02/2021

She’s 84 and she is just now retiring — after decades of championing people with disabilities. Meet Norma Jean Vescovo, who should be much better known than she is. My latest column, out this morning:

Norma Jean Vescovo is retiring after decades of working to improve the lives of people with disabilities

13/02/2021

I need to ask your help on the subject of help. I need you to tell me if you know someone in LA who provides a great deal of help to others. Not on Twitter. In an email. Do read my column today to understand what I have in mind.

Do you know someone in Los Angeles who does great good for others? This columnist is looking to talk to people about how they started helping and what they've learned from experience.

10/02/2021

Here's me on TV talking about corgis and the kindness of strangers. Corgi photos galore. Hope you enjoy.

Watch L.A.

06/02/2021

Years from now, how will we describe what this pandemic time was like in Los Angeles? We all have our different experiences and stories.
wants to know about them. Read all about it in my latest column, out this morning.

The Los Angeles Public Library is collecting pandemic experiences in an archive. Now it's your chance to contribute.