In the hoop
What do you expect out of Kobe Bryant this season?
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What do you expect out of Kobe Bryant this season?
What do you think of government earmarks?
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power workers command higher salaries than comparable city or private sector employees, according this Daily News Los Angeles report. Has the agency shown that it's worth the taxpayer dollars it receives? What -- if anything -- should be done about it? And any thoughts about the DWP employee union's legal action against the Daily News?
The State Bar has authored the "California Attorney Guidelines of Civility and Professionalism" aimmed at reducing the level of nastiness their profession. Our question: Do you know any nice lawyers?
Los Angeles Unified School District is once again considering charging nonprofit groups a fee to use school facilities and fields. Superintendent David Brewer III said the fee is needed to offset the $3.8 million a year the district pays for maintenance, but community groups what they're proposing is too high for their shoestring budgets. Is it right for LAUSD to levy the use fee, even on nonprofits?
The United States will begin using a new citizenship test Oct. 1, 2008, with questions in categories ranging from American government to history and integrated civics. So our question is this: What makes a good U.S. citizen? Can it be found on a test? Is it just a matter of having the luck to be born within our borders, or is it a set of shared beliefs -- a state of mind?
More than a dozen San Fernando Valley clergy members joined a statewide effort to pressure the California Supreme Court to end the ban on gay marriages. Do you support the advocacy group's efforts?
The "Dream Act," a federal bill that would grant a path to citizenship for undocumented students, is making its way through the Seante. Should students who arrived illegally in the United States as children be given a shot at citizenship?
Hadas Winnick, a Canoga Park High School Math teacher was apparently slain by her son Jesse Wiinick at her Calabasas home. If you knew the family, share your memories of Mrs. Winnick or any thoughts on the case.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that the LAFD has violated civil-rights laws by allowing harassment of female and African-American firefighters. This comes as the city of Los Angeles signed a deal to pay nearly $1.5 million to settle a racial discrimination and retailation lawsuit filed by a black firefighter Tennie Pierce, whose colleagues put dog food in his spaghetti. Your thoughts?
A church in Simi Valley was billed $40,000 by the city when their move to provide sancturary to an undocumented immigrant ignited a street protest that prompted a police presence. Who should pay? The city? The church? or the anti-illegal immigration group Save Our State, which staged the protest? What about freedom of speech? Are city leaders using fines as a backhanded way to censure the church for its stance?
Cal State Northridge is planning a housing project on 30 acres near campus that will include 400 townhomes for sale to faculty. The university says its an incentive to help recruit faculty turned-off by region's high housing costs, but some neighborhood groups are leery about potential negative impacts such as more traffic. How do you think this development will impact the community?
It's been at least five days and Patrick Richardson's house is still parked on the shoulder on the 101 Freeway, though it's starting to blend-in with the landscape after taggers left their mark. What should be done with this immobile home? Remove it? Dismantle it for scrap? Move in and hold a house warming party? Send us your best ideas for this home improvement project!
Drivers in Los Angeles face the absolute worst rush-hour traffic in the country, spending nearly two workweeks stuck behind the wheel in jams and wasting nearly 60 gallons of gas, according to a recent study. How do you kill time when faced with that red sea of brake lights on the road?
Avast ye scurvy dog! Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Leave us a message on our Pirate Answering Service by calling 818-935-5236 in your best pirate voice and tell us who should walk the plank today. Check back here all day; we'll post the best messages below. Arrrrgh!
Oh, and try not to identify yourselves. Just be a good pirate and leave your pirate name. Ya!
O.J. Simpson is back in the headlines -- this time under investigation for an alleged break-in and armed robbery at a Las Vegas casino hotel room that netted sports memorabilia. The controversial Heisman winner who was acquitted of mudering ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman says he was operating a sting to recover items stolen from him.
Do you think that's O.J. Simpson's voice in the audiotape? If so, why do you think he sounds so desperate?
What do you think of President Bush's new Iraq plan?
The City Council is closer to putting a $40-a-year parcel tax on the ballot, which is designed to raise about $30 million a year for gang prevention and intervention programs. Would you support this tax increase to combat gangs?
The neighborhoods around Birmingham High in Lake Balboa has been under siege, with six gang-related attacks since July, including Monday's shooting of a 23-year-old man. How are you coping with life in the crossfire, and what could police and school officials do to quell the violence happening just outside the campus gates?
And we now have documented proof -- blogger Michael Shen highlights LA's poor driving at his blog lacantdrive.com, where he claims local drivers are "second only to New Jersey" as the worst drivers in the entire country." What drives you crazy about other drivers in LA?
How has 9-11 affected your life today?
A group of women are staging a "nurse-in" at an Applebee's restaurant in Chatsworth to support public breastfeeding, which some businesses restrict, saying it makes other patrons uncomfortable. Should mothers be allowed to nurse whereever they please, or should they cover up and keep it out of public view?
The California Air Resources Board has proposed a slate of new emissions rules for the semiconductor, trucking and port industries. The new rules, which would go into effect in 2010, are among the first steps the state plans to take under Assembly Bill 32, the far-reaching global warming legislation that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed last year. Is CARB going too far with their proposed restrictions?
With the Valley running out of phone numbers, the California Public Utilities Commission has proposed adding a "747" area code to a region where the 818 area code has virtually become a symbol of its unique identity. Are you 818-4-LIFE, or are you willing to trade for a 747? If the plan comes to fruition, should existing numbers be split, or only new numbers assigned the 747 area code?
The California Transportation Commission has approved hundreds of millions in funding for various projects, including $315 million for the Exposition light-rail between downtown and Culver City, while providing little for projects in the San Fernando Valley. Do you think the state is spending money on the right transportation projects?
If a developer wants to build something in Los Angeles, they're required to hire a consultant to prepare a traffic-impact study. But some believe the process is biased, and the city should handle these studies in-house. Should taxpayer dollars be spent on this kind of scrutiny on development?