Steve Lopez
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Columnist Steve Lopez is the author of "Independence Day," a memoir about retirement, and the best-selling "The Soloist." facebook.com/steve.lopez.independence
Articles by Steve Lopez
Here's who won the LA mayoral debate
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Live chat: Our columnists analyze L.A.'s mayoral debate
Ali: The stakes are high for both contenders, yet I wonder how many Angelenos will be watching. It's surprising the number of otherwise politically aware folks who had no idea the debate was taking place tonight until I mentioned it. Then they were irked to find it airing on network TV: "Who still has cable?!" Apparently, venturing onto Telemundo or NBC's live feed is a bridge too far. But it shouldn't be. Raman is still a mystery to many, even though she's polling ahead.
Live chat: Our columnists analyze L.A.'s mayoral debate
Ali: The stakes are high for both contenders, yet I wonder how many Angelenos will be watching. It's surprising the number of otherwise politically aware folks who had no idea the debate was taking place tonight until I mentioned it. Then they were irked to find it airing on network TV: "Who still has cable?!" Apparently, venturing onto Telemundo or NBC's live feed is a bridge too far. But it shouldn't be. Raman is still a mystery to many, even though she's polling ahead.
They were homeless, but turned their lives around. Here's how they did it
LOS ANGELES - 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.
Steve Lopez: They were homeless, but turned their lives around. Here's how they did it
LOS ANGELES - 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.
Lopez: Doors drummer John Densmore jams at Homeboy: 'Maybe I can do something here'
A couple of years ago, in a column about Father Greg Boyle, I noted that he is quite particular and even a bit preachy about the right way to eat a steak It should be medium rare, never well-done, and served with a proper elixir. Doors drummer John Densmore took note. One thing led to another, and in July, Densmore, Boyle, former Times reporter Greg Krikorian and I went to dinner at the Smoke House in Burbank.
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. But consider this: In 1974, I wrote a check for a
Misplaced glasses, forgotten names. How to know when to worry, and how to thrive
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Steve Lopez, 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 recently in a suite at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The patient’s daughter and primary caregiver, Adai Lamar, updated Tan on her mother Jessie’s condition, and then stepped away to tell me about her own journey.
We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies
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Lopez: We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies
You need a boost, right? We're living under a dark cloud, with a steady downpour of graft, thuggery and baloney.
Lopez: We don't need AI to threaten the future of humanity. We've got Trump's climate policies
Zan Dubin, co-founder of National Drive Electric Month, at an event held at the Rove Charging Station on Friday in Costa Mesa. Dubin, an environmental activist, is among Californians who refuse to give up the fight against climate change.(Gary Coronado/For The Times) You need a boost, right? We’re living under a dark cloud, with a steady downpour of graft, thuggery and baloney.
Cuándo NO automatizar un proceso de TI
La automatización se ha convertido en la respuesta predeterminada para casi todos los problemas de TI. ¿Demasiados tickets? Automatizar. ¿Pasos repetitivos de vinculación? Automatizar. ¿Alertas de monitoreo? Automatizar. En algún punto del camino, dejamos de hacernos una pregunta simple: ¿debería esto automatizarse? La automatización es poderosa, pero puede multiplicar silenciosamente los problemas en lugar de resolverlos si se utiliza en el momento incorrecto.
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
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.
CA: Lopez: Dodger Stadium gondola plan about to hit heavy turbulence as state park defenders play hardball
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.
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?
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 L.A.'s underground, the public servants are 80, 90 and 100. It's tough getting old
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.
Steve Lopez: The doctor who helped save her is in another state, and telemedicine follow-up is prohibited
"But my favorite patient is...," said geriatrician Dr. Gene Dorio while giving life partner Robin Clough a kiss in the kitchen of their home in Santa Clarita on April 9, 2024. Dr. Dorio, who mostly does house calls with senior patients, has been spending most of his time taking care of Clough who has been battling papillary carcinoma cancer.
Californians rallied to save the coast 50 years ago. Trump is spoiling the celebration
Californians rallied to save the coast 50 years ago. Trump is spoiling the celebration 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. Guess who. It’s not that we needed the help. If there’s any …
Lopez: Californians rallied to save the coast 50 years ago. Trump is spoiling the celebration
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. Guess who. 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.
Steve 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: How an international collaboration led to the creation of a hidden treasure in Baja California Original
In a parched hillside village southeast of Ensenada, where electricity and plumbing are scarce and roaming dogs are plentiful, a treasure can be found on the grounds of an elementary school. You can't see it from the street, where the town palette runs from dusty brown to cinderblock gray. But traipse past the principal's office, scale a short incline, and you'll be rewarded with an 80-foot-long mural that explodes with color.
How an international collaboration led to the creation of a hidden treasure in Baja California
A photographer has spent the best part of a decade documenting the War on Drugs — looking at where cocaine comes from and where it ends …
Lopez: They found a new park hiding in plain sight in the middle of Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES, CA - June 17, 2026: 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, June 17, 2026. The San Vicente Park Foundation has a plan to turn that stretch of their neighborhood into a greenway. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times) 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.
Cuándo NO automatizar un proceso de TI
La automatización se ha convertido en la respuesta predeterminada para casi todos los problemas de TI ¿Demasiados tickets? Automatizar ¿Pasos repetitivos de vinculación? Automatizar ¿Alertas de monitoreo? Automatizar. En algún punto del camino, dejamos de hacernos una pregunta simple: ¿debería esto automatizarse? La automatización es poderosa, pero puede multiplicar silenciosamente los problemas en lugar de resolverlos si se utiliza en el momento incorrecto.
There might be one advantage to climate change: More home runs at Dodger Stadium
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?
As Compton students ace tests, educators are baffled by Rep. Maxine Waters’ snub of school bond
2 hours ago Plus, President Trump’s face could appear on a $250 bill and the U.S. agrees to a deal with Kenya to establish Ebola quarantine center for Americans On Thursday afternoon, a White House official said a framework for talks with Iran was waiting for Trump’s approval. Just minutes later, Treasury …
Steve Lopez: Spencer Pratt, please call me. You don't know what you're getting yourself into
LOS ANGELES — Spencer Pratt, please give me a call. We should talk. You say you want to be mayor of Los Angeles, but do you really? I know that being a candidate has rescued you from anonymity after your career in reality TV went off a cliff. You've got CEOs backing you, and fans raving, and you've managed to milk social media attention. But at some point you might have to answer questions from the reporters you've been avoiding.
Lopez: Fraud is rampant, but good hospice care exists. Here's a guide to making the right choice
Hospice fraud. Why do those two words appear in tandem so frequently? The short answer is money. The population of older adults is surging, a river of tax dollars is available to cover the cost of care, and legions of scammers and profiteers have lined the banks to pan for gold with schemes that include stolen identities and billings for patients who aren’t really on their deathbeds.
Steve Lopez: Trump says his social media post depicted him as a doctor, not Jesus. A Catholic school alum weighs in
The general consensus is that President Donald Trump's social media post of himself dressed in robes, after a busy weekend in which he blasted Pope Leo and attended a prizefight while an Iran peace plan fell apart, was an attempt to cast himself as a Jesus-like figure. kAmqFE %CF>A D2JD H6 92G6 :E HC@?8]k^Am kAmQxEVD DFAA@D65 E@ 36 >6 2D 2 5@4E@C[ >2<:?8 A6@A=6 36EE6C[Q 96 D2:5]k^Am kAmpD 2 8C25F2E6 @7 $E] !6E6C |2CEJC 8C256 D49@@= :? E96 $2? uC2?4:D4@ t2DE q2J 2C62[ 2?5 2D D@>6@?6 H9@ 92D D66?
Steve Lopez: Trump says his social media post depicted him as a doctor, not Jesus. A Catholic school alum weighs in
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... The general consensus is that President Donald Trump’s social media post of himself dressed in robes, after a busy weekend in which he blasted Pope Leo and attended a prizefight while an Iran peace plan fell apart, was an attempt to cast himself as a Jesus-like figure. But Trump says we have it wrong. “It’s supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” he said.
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