Category: Columnists

By Mark Ryavec The author is the president of the Venice Stakeholders Association, a non-profit dedicated to civic improvement. He previously served as a legislative analyst for the City of Los Angeles. The unfolding prosecution of city councilman Jose Huizar for felony corruption, racketeering and money laundering is just the tip of the iceberg of scandalous behavior that is rampant in Los Angeles City Hall. And the recent call by former city councilman Michael Woo in the Los Angeles Times for an independent inspector general does not come close to addressing the systemic corruption. Start with the fact that...

A congressman and an Olympic swimmer are among 130 million Americans who would face healthcare discrimination if Trump and McConnell get their way By Rep. Ted Lieu and Gary Hall Jr. Lieu represents coastal communities from Malibu to Rancho Palos Verdes in the House of Representatives. Hall is a retired Olympic swimmer who won five gold medals for the United States. What do a gold medal Olympic swimmer turned healthcare advocate and a former computer science major turned congressman have in common? Like millions of Americans, we’re both living with a pre-existing condition. Both our pre-existing conditions might surprise...

Title IX helped America win the World Cup; now it’s time to close the pay gap By Betsy Butler The writer is executive director of the California Women’s Law Center and a former California Assembly member. Flip through any high school yearbook from a few decades ago, and you might notice something missing. Among the shaggy haircuts and bell-bottoms, you’ll see familiar images of boys in caps holding baseball bats or grinning behind football helmets. But you’d be hard pressed to find a team of girls posing on a basketball court or soccer field. Thanks to Title IX, this...

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Whether in class or on strike, they’re making sacrifices for my education By Makena Cioni The author is junior class president of Venice High School, where she is also a captain of the girls’ volleyball team and president of the Interact Club (Rotary International). Last year she was a leader of the Venice High walkout for gun control legislation. As the skies opened above our heads in downtown Los Angeles on the first day of the LAUSD teachers’ strike, educators, parents, students and community members marched under dripping umbrellas in the tens of thousands. “Tell me what democracy looks...