With somber news like the string of race-related murders in Highland Park, the battles being waged between black and Latino politicians and the recent prison race riots in Chino frequenting local headlines, it sometimes feels like the Latino and African American populations of Los Angeles are on the verge of a war. Depending on whom you ask, the black-brown race problem is either being blown way out of proportion by the media or it is just the harbinger of an even bigger looming crisis. One thing most national commentators agree upon is that the problem seems to be unique to largely Latino Southern California. more ›

by Evan Storey As the five-year anniversary approaches, instead of allowing the networks to saturate your mind with visuals of the twin towers tumbling yet again, do yourself a favor: think about it. Whether or not that Tuesday morning affected you directly, the attacks on the WTC and the Pentagon undeniably changed...something. The Economist purports (subscription required) that September 11th was a turning point: It stands to reason that 19 men cannot change history.... more ›

Blake Gottesman, not Karl Rove, is the most influential man in the United States, as he truly has the President's ear. more ›

Depends on who you ask. There is this article that opens with the scare numbers for what happened in a simulation of The Big One hitting Los Angeles. The rest of the article mostly suggests that, again, FEMA isn't really ready to deal with this type of disaster before or after it happens. Locally, though, politicians are at least aware of the problems and are actually doing something about it. LAist hasn't seen an earthquake/disaster preparedness site for our city yet but San Francisco has a very cool one called 72 Hours. The goal of the site is to get you prepared for surviving the quake and works for us down here just as well as it does up there. more ›