PROFILE
FROM Tom Sykes
Long Live the Queen Queen Elizabeth II has now spent 63 years, 7 months on the throne — surpassing her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria, as Britain's longest-serving monarch. Her reign started when Winston Churchill was British Prime Minister and Harry Truman was President of the United States.
London Prepares for the Olympics London last hosted the Olympics in 1948 amid austerity in the aftermath of World War II. Amateur athletes slept on cots and brought their own towels. This year, the Games are a $15 billion spectacle -- ostensibly in peacetime, but protected by warships in the River Thames, missile-launchers on rooftops and 35,000 police and military personnel.
Does London Really Need the Olympics? Five massive rings now hang from the Tower Bridge, and the Olympics logo will be brightly lit every night after the games begin later this month. But after the Queen's recent Jubilee, are Londoners excited or thoroughly underwhelmed? Traffic congestion has many working at home.
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What are charter schools? LAUSD teachers were picket lines for a second day Tuesday. And this morning the teachers union organized a march to the California Charter Schools Association office downtown, to draw attention to their criticisms of local charter schools. But what are charter schools anyway?
Mueller 101 What do we know about the Mueller investigation, and when will we know more?
Could agave become Santa Barbara’s next major crop? In many ways, growing agave in Santa Barbara makes a lot of sense. Not only does it use very little water and thrive on generally inhospitable land, but it can act as a fuel break for wildfires. Now, local farmers and distillers are experimenting with the crop.