OPINION
May 19, 2013
Re "Felons allowed to help addicts, a report finds," May 14 The fact that addiction counselors in California who are sex offenders and other types of felons are allowed to provide addiction treatment is just the tip of the iceberg in a fundamentally flawed system of addiction care throughout the United States. Addiction is a complex disease for which there are effective, evidence-based treatments. But unlike other diseases, the majority of the 40 million people in need of treatment do not receive anything that approximates evidence-based care.
SPORTS
May 16, 2013 | By Mike DiGiovanna
Josh Hamilton said he was assured by doctors this week that the allergies that lead to occasional sinus and throat discomfort and dizziness were not caused or exacerbated by his heavy cocaine use from 2002-2005. "You have a hallway up the middle of your nose and sinus cavities on each side," said Hamilton, whose addiction to drugs and alcohol led to a ban from baseball from 2003-2005. "When you breathe air, it goes up and down the hallway. "Same thing when you do drugs, it goes up the hallway, not into the sinus cavities.
NEWS
May 13, 2013 | By Hailey Branson-Potts
California's lax rules governing who can work as substance abuse counselors have allowed sex offenders and other felons to treat addicts with little to no scrutiny by the state, according to a report by the Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes released Monday. California does not require a criminal background check for drug and alcohol counselors, nor does it ask applicants to report their criminal histories, according to the report, which found that at least 23 sex offenders have been permitted to work as counselors since 2005.
SPORTS
April 21, 2013 | Chris Erskine
I've tumbled down another rabbit hole, wound up in Long Beach, which isn't a worst-case scenario, though close. The cars here all need mufflers, the young fans need more clothes. What kind of sordid little event is this? Indy car racing had always been pretty much a mystery to me, then it split off into two separate circuits, then NASCAR got huge (overwhelming it), then suddenly the big names aged out of the sport. Or worse, died. Sure, more pretty-boy drivers came along, but they seemed like robots.
ENTERTAINMENT
April 20, 2013 | By Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times TV Critic
A ruthlessly self-aware political wife reconsidering her choices. A sensual socialite facing down an oppressive age with informed good humor. A group of young women so busy defying social expectations they've forgotten to have any of their own. A working mother with a gift for passionate stillness. A recently recovered drama addict determined to save the world. A bipolar CIA operative, an optimistic bureaucrat, a frightened sex slave turned canny warrior. The female leads of "House of Cards," "Parade's End," "Girls," "The Good Wife," "Enlightened," "Homeland," "Parks and Recreation" and "Game of Thrones" are very different sorts of women who share one important trait: We have never seen their like before.
OPINION
April 16, 2013 | By Lynne Lyman
What do you think is the leading cause of accidental death in California? If you said car accidents, you were wrong. In 2009, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 3,200 people in the state died in automobile crashes, while 3,561 people died of drug overdoses, the bulk of them involving prescription pills. That high number of deaths is particularly tragic because we have a powerful weapon against drug overdoses, and it isn't used nearly as often as it could be. Naloxone (trade name: Narcan)