Steve Lopez
Los Angeles
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Articles by Steve Lopez
Lopez: It's been a great romance, but it's time to rethink our relationship with the California coast
If you'd like to live near the water along the spectacular California coast at some point in your life, you have a number of options. You can settle in, say, Culver City, which is several miles inland, and wait for rising tides to arrive. Or, if you just can't wait that long, I saw a listing you might be interested in. It's in Capitola, near Santa Cruz, right next to the wharf.
Lopez: It's been a great romance, but it's time to rethink our relationship with the California coast
With a fall forecast that includes a Super El Niño, Kelvin waves, hurricanes and a rising sea level, piers, beaches and homes could be lost. If you’d like to live near the water along the spectacular California coast at some point in your life, you have a number of options. You can settle in, say, Culver City, which is several miles inland, and wait for rising tides to arrive. Or, if you just can’t wait that long, I saw a listing you might be interested in .
Lopez: Post-debate, lingering questions about who Raman is and how she would lead
In the Los Angeles mayoral debate Tuesday night, I was reminded of two things. First, as I've said before, it's no surprise that roughly one-third of likely voters remain undecided with less than three weeks to go until election day. Second, there is one key difference between the two candidates: We know who Mayor Karen Bass is, but we don't yet know who Councilmember Nithya Raman is, even though she's been leading in most polls. Those two points are connected.
Commentary: Bass vs. Raman: Here's who won the L.A. mayoral debate
Karen Bass and Nithya Raman faced off Tuesday night in a debate hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo52 in Universal City. It was the L.A. mayoral candidates' last head-to-head before the Nov. 3 election. Times columnists Lorraine Ali, Gustavo Arellano and Steve Lopez weigh in on the highlights and lowlights. Arellano: Raman had the line of the night at the very beginning, channeling — of all politicians — Ronald Reagan, one of the last people you'd think of as an Angeleno, even though he absolutely was.
Lopez: They were homeless, but turned their lives around. Here's how they did it
About two years ago, Michael Mata boarded a bus at 5 a.m. near the shelter where he was living, on the northern edge of South Los Angeles. He was determined to bring an end to years of sporadic homelessness and a string of dead-end jobs. A shelter mate had advised him to arrive early at Chrysalis, a nonprofit that helps people figure out how to find work and rebuild their lives. A line forms early, Mata had been told, and they can only take in so many people each day.
‘Take out’ L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line
‘Take out’ L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line I went to bed at a decent hour Monday night and got a pretty good sleep. I woke up refreshed Tuesday morning, only to see the news that President Trump seemed to have told a crowd in Nebraska that it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if Iran attacked Southern California. “Let ‘em take out Los Angeles. Let …
Lopez: 'Take out' L.A. or San Diego? This buffoon thinks Trump was way out of line
I went to bed at a decent hour Monday night and got a pretty good sleep. I woke up refreshed Tuesday morning, only to see the news that President Trump seemed to have told a crowd in Nebraska that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if Iran attacked Southern California. "Let 'em take out Los Angeles. Let 'em take out San Diego," he said in a typically meandering speech, perhaps trying to justify a war he has repeatedly claimed is keeping the U.S. safe, even as gas prices have spiked.
Doors drummer John Densmore jams at Homeboy: ‘Maybe I can do something here’
The San Francisco 49ers are unbeaten, but, c’mon, who have they beaten? A more polite version of that question was posed to tight end George Kittle on …
Lopez: The California I grew up in was full of ambition and possibility. Is the dream still alive?
The California I grew up in had its pluses and minuses, just like the state I'm living in now. In 1974, I wrote a check for a semester of college. That was the cost of registration, by the way. Tuition for in-state residents was free at San José State University and other public universities in California. The state's leaders believed subsidized higher education would serve the greater good and seed economic growth.
Lopez: Here's why so many L.A. voters are undecided in mayor's race
Political polls are like weather forecasts. They’re worth passing consideration, maybe, but you’d have to be a fool to bet your house on their accuracy. And yet there’s something that rings true about the recent poll suggesting that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is in deep trouble among likely voters as she tries to hold on to a job that Councilmember Nithya Raman is trying to snatch away from her.
Lopez: All those undecided L.A. voters may actually know what they want — someone to win them over
Political polls are like weather forecasts. They're worth passing consideration, maybe, but you'd have to be a fool to bet your house on their accuracy. And yet there's something that rings true about the recent poll suggesting that L.A. Mayor Karen Bass is in deep trouble among likely voters as she tries to hold on to a job that Councilmember Nithya Raman is trying to snatch away from her.
Lopez: Misplaced glasses, forgotten names. How to know when to worry, and how to thrive
Dr. Zaldy Tan, left, speaks with Adai Lamar, 53, about the ongoing memory issues for her mother Jessie, 84, center, who suffers from vascular dementia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.(Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times) Dr. Zaldy Tan, author of a new book with profound insights into aging, memory loss and resilience, was examining an 84-year-old patient with vascular dementia last week in a suite at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Lopez: We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies Original
We're living under a dark cloud, with a steady downpour of graft, thuggery and baloney. There's the raffling of presidential pardons and the attacks on reporters for doing their jobs, the clownish trade war with Canada, the bungled disaster in Iran, the petty obsessions with the ballroom and the Kennedy Center, the hogwash about a stolen election, the attacks on immigrants and the shameless presidential profiteering while working people suffer the cost of Trump's countless broken promises.
Lopez: Abandoned properties, fire hazards. Are L.A. mayor candidates part of the fix, or the problem? Original
Labor Day is behind us, election day is less than two months away, and the question before Los Angeles voters is this: Can anyone run this city? Two fires at abandoned properties, one in Studio City and the other on the eastern edge of Larchmont, offer windows into City Hall dysfunction as Mayor Karen Bass defends her job against a challenge by City Councilmember Nithya Raman.
Lopez: Abandoned properties, fire hazards. Are L.A. mayor candidates part of the fix, or the problem?
Pastor Juan Galicia sits on the front stoop of his burned Larchmont home holding a Bible he found in the rubble.(Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times) Labor Day is behind us, election day is less than two months away, and the question before Los Angeles voters is this: Can anyone run this city?
Lopez: First the fire, then the loss of their mom. The Moores are still fighting to get home to Altadena Original
Christine Moore's three children could not have seen any of it coming. Not the fire, not the sudden death, not the exhausting fight to get back home. First, it was the Eaton fire that upended their lives in January of 2025. Maddie and Avery were living in New York after college, in their 20s and embarking on careers in art and fashion.
Lopez: Gov. Newsom backs off from shameful gambit, and it's a victory for California coast
Several times over the past many years, I've ended a column about California's greatest natural asset with the same words: The coast is never saved, it's always being saved. Today I'm beginning with that thought. The words are not mine. The late Peter Douglas, former executive director of the California Coastal Commission, uttered them many years ago.
Lopez: A coastal development exemption in Santa Monica? Shame on Gov. Newsom Original
My plan, just back from a trip to the East Coast, was to give California a well-deserved pat on the back for its unwavering commitment to coastal protection and public access. My travels had taken me to coastal areas in Connecticut and New York that are so privatized, you'd need a kayak or a parachute to make it onto a beach.
Steve Lopez: Dodger Stadium gondola plan about to hit heavy turbulence as state park defenders play hardball
LOS ANGELES - As we head into August and look to the fall, two burning questions are front and center when it comes to the Dodgers. Will they win a third straight World Series championship? And will the $500 million proposal to ferry fans by gondola from Union Station to Dodger Stadium remain aloft or crash and burn? I can't answer the first question, although I wouldn't bet against a three-peat.
Lopez: In this Hollywood courtroom, defendants are sentenced to get help, and graduations are celebrated
The defendant was in an undisclosed jail. The judge was in Department 213 of the Hollywood courthouse, where he could see the defendant on a video feed. "All right, listen," said Judge Ronald Kaye, who runs one of four mental health courts in the building.
Lopez: In L.A.'s underground, the public servants are 80, 90 and 100. It's tough getting old Original
Sometimes the joints get rusty. Sometimes rising pressure stresses arteries. Sometimes there's a bit of leakage. But that's the reality for much of the underground network of pipes that deliver more than 400 million gallons of water daily to customers of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. We don't give it much thought until there's a major water line break, as there was early on the morning of July 17 under Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.
Lopez: 5 reasons the Dodgers should not go back to the White House again next year Original
What’s done is done. The Dodgers went to the White House on Thursday and met with President Trump for the second year in a row, following back-to-back World Series championships. At the time of their visit, the Dodgers had the best record in Major League Baseball with 65 wins and 38 losses. Winning three titles in a row won’t be easy, but assuming they pull off another victory in October, here are five reasons the Dodgers should not go back to the White House next year.
Lopez: The doctor who helped save her is in another state, and telemedicine follow-up is prohibited Original
In her fight against an aggressive form of cancer, Santa Clarita Valley resident Robin Clough is winning, for now. But in her fight for the right to have telemedicine followups with the out-of-state doctor who helped save her life, she is losing. And legislation that would have eased the way for her and other California patients who are in remission to get continued care across state lines just died in Sacramento.
Lopez: Happy 100th birthday to Mel Brooks. I'm not sure I want to be around that long Original
I’d like to congratulate Mel Brooks on making it to the age of 100, but I’m not sure I want to duplicate his achievement. I try not to focus on aging, not that there’s anything wrong with getting older. But sometimes I feel exhausted by the daily trials of modern living, and I’m not sure I can manage 27 more years of it. kAmx’> HC:E:?8 E9:D 92G:?8 ;FDE 8@EE6?
Lopez: Californians rallied to save the coast 50 years ago. Trump is spoiling the celebration Original
A guy who owns a beach resort on the coast of Florida, where hundreds of miles of overdeveloped shores are threatened by increasingly severe storms driven by global warming, is trying to tell Californians how best to manage our coast. It's not that we needed the help. If there's any thought to adding an eighth wonder of the world to the current lineup of seven, I'd nominate the 1,100-mile treasure that kisses Oregon on one end and Mexico on the other.
Lopez: On Skid Row, it's been decades of frustration. Will the next mayor have a plan?
On my way through Skid Row to meet up with Estela Lopez, things looked pretty much as they did when I spent time there more than 20 years ago and first heard the promises that things would be better soon. Tents lined some of the sidewalks, making them unpassable. Some people wore the damage of physical or mental disease, addiction, poverty, or all of the above.
Lopez: Happy 100th birthday to Mel Brooks. I'm not sure I want to be around that long
I’d like to congratulate Mel Brooks on making it to the age of 100, but I’m not sure I want to duplicate his achievement. I try not to focus on aging, not that there’s anything wrong with getting older. But sometimes I feel exhausted by the daily trials of modern living, and I’m not sure I can manage 27 more years of it. I’m writing this having just gotten off the phone with a tech assistant who was trying to help me get into my expense reporting system, and things did not go well.
Lopez: They found a new park hiding in plain sight in the middle of Los Angeles
Local resident Miguel Lopez reads a book on a patch of public land along San Vicente Boulevard as traffic zooms past him in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Just past noon, a young man appeared on the north side of San Vicente Boulevard, a block west of Hauser, and eyeballed the flow of westbound traffic. When he saw an opening, he slid across to the median strip, where he waited for eastbound traffic to let up before crossing over to the south side of San Vicente to pick up some takeout food.
Lopez: There might be one advantage to climate change: More home runs at Dodger Stadium
The heavy night air at Chavez Ravine used to turn home runs into fly ball outs. Climate change is upending that, experts say. Not much good comes to mind when you think about the effects of climate change. Wildfires, floods, melting ice caps, heat waves, the bleaching of ocean reefs. But then there's baseball, and one possible silver lining. Has global warming turned Dodger Stadium into a home run launching pad?
Lopez: From the scene of South L.A.'s erupting sidewalks, 5 questions for Bass and Raman
Earl Ofari Hutchinson stands in front of a home with a sidewalk badly in need of repair in South Los Angeles. Hutchinson is demanding that mayoral candidates commit to a plan for repairing broken sidewalks. OK, I'll admit it. I'm going to miss Spencer Pratt. I had never heard of the former reality TV star before he said God wanted him to be mayor of Los Angeles.
Lopez: From the scene of South L.A.'s erupting sidewalks, 5 questions for Bass and Raman
For the record: 11:33 a.m. June 13, 2026: An earlier version of this column said Spencer Pratt had gone on record saying the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. Pratt defended a conspiracy theorist who had made the claim. OK, I'll admit it. I'm going to miss Spencer Pratt. I had never heard of the former reality TV star before he said God wanted him to be mayor of Los Angeles.
Lopez: From the scene of South L.A.'s erupting sidewalks, 5 questions for Bass and Raman
For the record: 11:33 a.m. June 13, 2026: An earlier version of this column said Spencer Pratt had gone on record saying the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax. Pratt defended a conspiracy theorist who had made the claim. OK, I'll admit it. I'm going to miss Spencer Pratt. I had never heard of the former reality TV star before he said God wanted him to be mayor of Los Angeles.
Lopez: For mayoral candidates and all of L.A., here's the homelessness conversation we must have
Steve Lopez Sat, June 6, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. UTC 7 min read Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. LAPD and DEA agents converge near MacArthur Park targeting an open-air drug market. Authorities arrested 18 people, including two people believed to be the main sources of fentanyl and methamphetamine in the park. Ron, a West L.A. resident, thinks he knows why former reality TV star and political newcomer Spencer Pratt won so much support in his run for mayor.
Lopez: For mayoral candidates and all of L.A., here's the homelessness conversation we must have
Ron, a West L.A. resident, thinks he knows why former reality TV star and political newcomer Spencer Pratt won so much support in his run for mayor. People are frustrated, frightened and angry about homelessness "and the crime associated with it," Ron said in an email. He added that he voted for Mayor Karen Bass, but "almost everything Pratt said about the homeless resonated with me.
Lopez: For mayoral candidates and all of L.A., here's the homelessness conversation we must have
Ron, a West L.A. resident, thinks he knows why former reality TV star and political newcomer Spencer Pratt won so much support in his run for mayor. People are frustrated, frightened and angry about homelessness “and the crime associated with it,” Ron said in an email. He added that he voted for Mayor Karen Bass, but “almost everything Pratt said about the homeless resonated with me.
Lopez: Bass clears first hurdle, but if Pratt holds off Raman, the mayoral race could be a holy war Original
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt speaks to the media outside an election night party at Don Antonio's Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles. (Ronaldo Bolaños / Los Angeles Times) L.A. Mayor Karen Bass made what sounded like a victory speech Tuesday night. Councilmember Nithya Raman made what sounded almost like a concession speech. And former reality TV star Spencer Pratt relayed a message from the heavens.
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