A Hissing Noise By Peter Green, Peter Green is the author of "Alexander to Actium" and "The Laughter of Aphrodite." He is the former fiction critic of the London Daily Telegraph
Cities, Counties Unprepared for 21st Century By Marian Bergeson, Marian Bergeson is a former state senator from Newport Beach and former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors
Money Would Go a Long Way in Quieting Airport Woes By Steven B. Frates, Steven B. Frates of Newport Beach is a fellow at the Rose Institute of State and Local Government. His column will appear on a rotating basis with a group of Orange County writers
A Culture of War By David D. Dotson, David D. Dotson is a former assistant chief of the Los Angeles Police Department
A Flawed Performance By D.J. Waldie, D.J. Waldie, a Lakewood city official, is the author of "Holy Land: A Suburban Memoir."
With New Technology, Federal Control Always Grows--But Wait By Walter Russell Mead, Walter Russell Mead, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of "Mortal Splendor: The American Empire in Transition."
Kyrgyzstan's Leader Backslides on His Western Civics Lessons By Paula R. Newberg, Paula R. Newberg has lived and worked in south, central and west Asia, and visited Kyrygzstan prior to its parliamentary elections on behalf of the National Democratic Institute
Striving to be Both a Theocracy and a Vibrant Democracy By Robin Wright, Robin Wright, who covers global issues for The Times, is a former Middle East correspondent and the author of "The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran."
Top Priority: Free the Innocent By Melanie E. Lomax, Melanie E. Lomax, a civil rights lawyer, was president of the Los Angeles Police Commission from 1990 to 1991
The Cloud Over State GOP's Savior By Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a contributing editor to Opinion, is a senior associate at the School of Politics and Economics at Claremont Graduate University and a political analyst for KCAL-TV
When Personality Morphs Into Policy By David Brooks, David Brooks is a senior editor at the Weekly Standard. He is the author of "Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There," due out in May
That L.A. Look By Mary Mcnamara, Mary McNamara is a staff writer in The Times' Southern California Living section. She last wrote about personal libraries for the magazine