Activities

It's strange how "scandal" gets defined these days in Washington. At the moment, everyone is screaming about the "scandal" of the Internal Revenue Service scrutinizing conservative nonprofits before granting them tax-exempt status. Here are the genuine scandals in this affair: Political organizations are being allowed to masquerade as charities to avoid taxes and keep their donors secret, and the IRS has allowed them to do this for years. The bottom line first: The IRS hasn't done nearly enough over the years to rein in the subversion of the tax law by political groups claiming a tax exemption that is not legally permitted for campaign activity.

WASHINGTON - In spring 2010, agents in the Cincinnati office of the Internal Revenue Service, which handles applications for tax-exempt status, faced a surge of filings by new advocacy groups, with little guidance on how to treat them. Their decision to deal with the problem by singling out tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny has now triggered a criminal inquiry, congressional investigations, the departure of two top IRS officials and the naming of a new acting commissioner Thursday.

Whether by necessity or choice, a quarter of Americans take at least one vacation by themselves each year. Some solo travelers are single. Some have partners who dislike travel or have different interests or can't get away. Some just crave freedom. But all face the same question: What's the best trip for the person traveling alone? "The key is to know yourself," said Beth Whitman, author of a guide for women traveling alone and founder of Wanderlustandlipstick.com , a website devoted to advice and tours for women on the go. "There are times when you just need to get away, to recuperate.

MAE WANG, Thailand - As we sat together on a long, narrow raft of bamboo, Alexa Pham dipped her hand into the quickly moving river. "It's the really simple things," she said with a long breath, "that make it beautiful here in Mae Wang. " Two wiry boatmen, steering with long poles, navigated the raft beneath the branches of overhanging trees, around boulders and through bars of late-afternoon sunlight. The men are part of Pham's staff, hired from the hill tribes and Burmese refugee communities of northern Thailand.

NEW YORK - The next wave of union protesters isn't blue collar. It's lawyers, paralegals, secretaries, helicopter pilots, judges, insurance agents and podiatrists. These white-collar workers are not exactly the picture of the labor movement, but they are becoming a more essential part of it as they turn to unions for help in a tough economy as bosses try to squeeze out more profits. "Employers have been downsizing, asking employees to take on larger roles, making them work more hours," said Nicole Korkolis, spokeswoman for the Office and Professional Employees International Union.

WASHINGTON - President Obama forced out the head of the IRS on Wednesday, seeking to restore the public's faith in the tax agency while asserting a measure of control over a rapidly growing political problem. Making a hastily scheduled statement at the White House, Obama denounced the targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service as "inexcusable" and pledged to "do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. " "Americans are right to be angry about it, and I am angry about it," he said.

With more than 4 million people visiting Yosemite National Park last year ? and that number expected to increase this year ? it's no wonder lodging inside the park is snatched up quickly. "We typically sell out during the summer season," Delaware North Cos. spokeswoman Lisa Cesaro said of its Yosemite accommodations (Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, Curry Village and the housekeeping camp on the Merced River; the Wawona Hotel, and in the back country, Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, White Wolf Lodge and the High Sierra camps)

Among the upcoming activities planned for Catalina Island: May 19-20: Catalina Island Hoe-Down, a festival featuring food, entertainment, live music, games; (310) 510-2595. June 2: 20th annual silent film benefit, celebrating island's Hollywood locations; (310) 510-2414, www.catalinamuseum.org . June 3: Plein Air Painting Exhibition, a display of more than 20 Catalina Island scenes by contemporary and historic artists; (310) 510-2414, www.catalinamuseum.org . June 20 (and every Wednesday till Aug. 29)

Re the article "Kids, Gym Sit Idle as Bureaucrats Quarrel": Trustee (George) Perez says in this article that "everyone is trying their best" and to be patient, as large projects take time to get off the ground. Mr. Perez needs to understand that we count on youth activities to keep our children busy. We have been patient because we know you and the board members grew up in this area of El Rio and that you would make things happen! Two years is more than enough time to plan things out. You say you have a good idea of where you want to go with this?

WHY DOES The Times again give publicity to so-called artist Robbie Conal ["Poster Boy for Mischief," by Irene Lacher, Oct. 13]? Over the years, he and his crew have engaged in the illegal activity of plastering posters on utility boxes, poles, fences, etc. throughout the L.A. area. Government agencies have spent considerable sums of taxpayers' money on the poster removal from public property. He should be behind bars, not in an art gallery. Donald McPoland Glendale

At Harvard-Westlake, a private high school in the shadows of the Hollywood Hills, players from the basketball team heaped praise on the alumnus who this week became the first active NBA player to announce that he is gay. "We have a lot of pride in him," Michael Sheng, 17, said of Jason Collins. "He's a hero, an icon for what he has done. " Support from basketball players was more tentative at Susan Miller Dorsey High, a school in the heart of Los Angeles' black community that has long been an athletic powerhouse, producing numerous NFL and NBA players.

Guitarist and ethnomusicologist Bob Brozman, who progressed from an early fascination with the delta blues of the South to a consuming passion for the traditional music of Hawaii and became a leading authority on the National steel guitar, has died. He was 59. Brozman was found dead April 23 at his home in Santa Cruz. His death was ruled a suicide, according to the coroner's office of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department. Brozman emerged in Santa Cruz in the 1970s as a street musician, playing a decidedly uncontemporary American roots style of music ranging from obscure jazz tunes to Hawaiian chanties.

Shortstop Hanley Ramirez was reinstated from the disabled list Monday, more than two weeks before he was initially projected to return from thumb surgery. Ramirez was moved into the Dodgers roster spot that previously belonged to Clayton Kershaw , who was put on the bereavement list because of a death in his family. Kershaw has left the team but is expected to take his scheduled turn in the rotation Friday in San Francisco. Kershaw has to be out a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven.

Jason Collins had long been keeping a secret. As a standout high school player at Harvard-Westlake School, as a star at Stanford and through a 12-year NBA career, he had hidden something fundamental about himself from his family, friends and teammates. On Monday Collins came out, becoming the first active male athlete in a major U.S. professional team sport to acknowledge he was gay. The reaction was swift. President Obama, who just last year gave his support for gay marriage, called Collins to say "he was impressed by his courage," according to a White House Twitter post.

New California foreclosure actions posted a sharp plunge in the first quarter to levels not seen since the last housing boom. Lenders filed 18,567 mortgage default notices on California houses and condominiums during the first three months of the year. That was a 51.4% drop from the previous quarter and a 67.0% drop from the first quarter of 2012, according to real estate firm DataQuick. The filing of a notice of default is the first step in California's formal foreclosure process.

When it comes to trendsetters, Thomas Hudnut will go down in history as the high school educator who proved students could excel in academics and athletics at the same time. As the headmaster when Studio City Harvard High School merged with the Westlake School for Girls in 1989 to become Harvard-Westlake, he decided to launch an all-out effort "to be as much like Stanford as we possibly could. " Sports was used to gain exposure and inspire a whole different element of students to consider Harvard-Westlake, known for its academic excellence.

Peek.com , a new site that helps tourists find and book activities, has added Los Angeles in its latest expansion. The site is trying to do for tourist activities what Expedia.com does for booking flights and hotels. The site went live in parts of California and Hawaii in October, but it added results for Los Angeles this week. Users traveling to Los Angeles or residents who are simply looking for something to do can go to the site and search for nightlife, sightseeing tours, restaurants, or arts and culture activities.

On Sept. 13, a letter by Shirley Cereseto referring to recent mouthings by Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) makes me wonder what kind of congressman is representing me in Washington. The only knowledge I have of Dornan's activities is what I read in the news concerning some of his outrageous conduct toward people who do not fully agree with his sentiments. It makes me wonder about his ability to properly represent the welfare of his constituency when he is capable of such outbursts as are repeatedly being reported in the press.

SACRAMENTO - Californians can buy special license plates featuring pictures of whales, firefighters and palm trees, but the Department of Motor Vehicles has failed to collect up to $22 million from drivers who have them, a new audit shows. The agency appears to have undercharged some people for the plates by nearly $10.2 million, according to the study, released Thursday by state Auditor Elaine Howle. Some fees were set below the level required by the law. DMV officials said they acted "in good faith" in setting the fees, which were created by different pieces of legislation, but said they would review the matter further.

MINNEAPOLIS - Ryan Madson took the most significant step yet in his return from Tommy John surgery, completing a 40-pitch bullpen session Tuesday in which he said he threw all three of his pitches "with conviction, with extension and without one bit of pain. " The right-hander, who missed all of spring training because of a sore elbow, is scheduled to throw to hitters Friday. He expects to begin a minor league rehabilitation assignment next week and hopes to be activated by May 1. "This is the closest I've felt to being normal," said Madson, who had a 4-2 record and 2.37 earned run average and 32 saves for Philadelphia in 2011.