- Social:
Los Angeles Times
Staff writer for the Los Angeles Times covering politics, she writes the “Essential California” newsletter; former City Hall reporter who founded and wrote for the City Maven
PROFILE
Alice Walton
Guest
FROM Alice Walton
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
The Aliso Canyon gas leak one year later One year ago, an aging natural gas well owned by the Southern California Gas Company sprung a massive leak, kicking off what would eventually become the largest leak of natural gas in U.S. history. In the four months it took to plug the gas leak in Aliso Canyon, near Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, around 100,000 metric tons of methane were released into the atmosphere. That’s the equivalent of about a million cars being driven for a year, and enough to single-handedly torpedo the state’s greenhouse gas reduction goals. Thousands of people evacuated, and the leak has since put the spotlight on hundreds of other storage facilities.
Which Way, L.A.?
Los Angeles Is a Democracy: Why Do So Few People Care? If low voter turnout is a disaster, it's time to declare an emergency in the City of LA. Yesterday — in City Council and School Board districts containing hundreds of thousands of people -- some candidates won office with totals of five or 6000 votes. Is it time to pay the poor if they go to the polls and fine the rich if they don't? Should you be able to vote on your phone?
Which Way, L.A.?
A Primer on the March 8 Election Seven of 15 Los Angeles city council seats are up for grabs next month, along with 4 of 7 seats on the LA School Board—not to mention 10 ballot measures that are confusing even to the people who put them on the ballot. Tonight we’ll get a survey of the choices voters will have on pension reform, libraries and political contributions. There’s a proposed tax on oil wells—and one on medical marijuana, even though the measure itself points out it’s illegal to sell it.
Recommended
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?