Opinion

When Susan had breast cancer, we heard a lot of lame remarks, but our favorite came from one of Susan's colleagues. She wanted, she needed, to visit Susan after the surgery, but Susan didn't feel like having visitors, and she said so. Her colleague's response? "This isn't just about you. " "It's not?" Susan wondered. "My breast cancer is not about me? It's about you?" The same theme came up again when our friend Katie had a brain aneurysm. She was in intensive care for a long time and finally got out and into a step-down unit.

City Councilman Eric Garcetti campaigned for mayor for 622 days. He raised more than $8 million and secured the votes of 222,300 residents of Los Angeles. Now comes the hard part: governing. He has his skeptics. Some worry that he's too liberal to rein in spending. Some fear that he's too amiable to demand performance. Some think he's too young (at 42) or that he's too much a creature of government. And some believe that Los Angeles is so unwieldy, its problems so thorny, that the city defies repair, even by the most talented chief executive.

A man with no risk factors for prostate cancer can go his whole life without ever taking a PSA test, according to the American Urological Assn. In a new clinical guideline unveiled Friday, the urologists said that only men between the ages of 55 and 69 should even consider getting a PSA screening test if they have no signs or symptoms of prostate cancer. Men should only get tested after discussing all the pros and cons with their doctors, and if they decide to get tested, they should not get tested again for at least two years, the guideline advises.

There was a time not that long ago when it would have seemed far-fetched to suggest that the law should protect gay and lesbian students in public schools from bullying or discrimination. It wasn't just that homosexuality was still regarded as undesirable, even pathological. There was also a reluctance to recognize that children and adolescents might identify themselves - and be identified by their tormentors - as gay. (The children knew better, of course.) Today it's obvious that gay, lesbian and transgender students exist and that they are often the victims of bullying and harassment.

As the Supreme Court prepares a decision on the fate of Proposition 8, nearly six in 10 California voters now believe same-sex marriage should be legal, with support rising among older voters and in all regions of the state, a new poll has found. The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll reveals that attitudes in the state toward gay marriage have changed significantly since Californians banned it in 2008 by a vote of 52% to 48%. The Supreme Court will decide this month whether the ban will continue.

This spring, China's navy accepted the Pentagon's invitation to participate in the 2014 Rim of the Pacific - RIMPAC - naval exercise to be held off Hawaii. This will be the first time China takes part in the biennial event. Our allies should signal their intent to withdraw from the exercise if China participates. Failing that, the invitation should be withdrawn. RIMPAC is for allies and friends, not nations planning to eventually wage war on the United States. Russia sent ships in 2012, but while its senior officers may occasionally utter unfriendly words, they are not actively planning to fight the United States.

Many hard-working people need access to short-term credit in a pinch to cover the cost of an emergency room visit or replacing a busted stove or carburetor. Yet apart from asking friends and relatives for assistance, a wellspring that comes with its own costs and often runs dry, many families turn to alternative, "predatory" lenders to finance unexpected expenses. Although the products offered by these alternative lenders — such as payday or car-title loans — can help families weather a financial emergency, the eye-popping interest rates can be devastating.

Los Angeles, a city where 63.1% of residents rent their homes, is in the midst of a crisis in rental housing. A recent study by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development laid out the stark facts. Los Angeles rents have increased, after adjusting for inflation, by nearly 30% over the last 20 years. During the same period, renter incomes have decreased by 6%. One important part of the problem is an inadequate supply of affordable rental units. Only 37 units are available and affordable for every 100 would-be renters living at the average renter income level.

Wedding season is officially upon us, and one needn't be marrying a "Bridezilla" star to find the planning comes with some stress. Interfaith couples seem to have more than most as they try to satisfy not only each other but two extended families and two religious communities. I interviewed dozens of interfaith couples from across the country for a book on interfaith marriage. One husband and wife I met had planned to get married in a Catholic church to accommodate the bride's family.

Whether perusing the beauty and personal care products at Target or Whole Foods or shopping online at Sephora, consumers are increasingly encountering the phrase "paraben-free. " What exactly does paraben-free mean, and why might it matter? We take a closer look — including sussing out pretty makeup products that are paraben-free. What are parabens? Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in cosmetics and personal care products such as soap, moisturizers, shaving cream and underarm deodorant, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Re "Deficit extremists, blind to data, are doing active economic harm," Column, June 12 It is so refreshing to read Michael Hiltzik's explanation of how Congress' ill-timed obsession with deficit reduction actually retards economic growth. Other priorities, especially job creation, deserve much greater emphasis. But Hiltzik makes another valuable point that merits wider discussion: With current interest rates so low, this is an ideal time to start digging ourselves out of our backlog in infrastructure maintenance.

Re "Risks to hands-free units," June 13 As far as it goes, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety's study on the dangers of using hands-free devices while driving is accurate. However, it should be noted that the hands-free technology in modern cars is new and that in time drivers will adapt to these systems and will learn how to manage all this new information. We are only in the infancy of this pervasive technology, and it's impossible to fully understand how we'll adapt to it in the future.

Re "U.S. verifies Syria's use of sarin," June 14 Red line? Are you kidding? Why is it less moral for Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces to kill rebels and civilians by asphyxiating them using sarin gas than it is for them to blow off limbs or faces or send bullets into people's torsos? The moral red line was crossed long ago; the sarin red line is about the politics associated with the risks of arming the enemies of our enemy and the risks of involvement in another Mideast war. The debate should always have been about this; instead, it's embroiled in a heated struggle to decide what, if anything, to do about the declared-to-be-crossed red line.

Re "A restrained state budget," Editorial, and "A longer day in court," June 13 Shame on the governor, the Legislature and, frankly, The Times' editorial board. The dismantling of the California legal system, our third branch of government, continues with the new proposed state budget. Your editorial makes no mention of our courts, where citizens wait too long for justice. The California courthouse infrastructure, especially in Los Angeles County, was built from decades of prudent decisions, and now many locations are being closed down.

Re "Anaheim's feeble democracy," Editorial, June 14 Looking at a map of Anaheim, it seems that a reasonable solution to the ongoing political challenges there might be an amicable split of the city. Affluent Anaheim Hills has little in common with largely Latino, working-class west Anaheim or even central Anaheim. Although some may say a split would amount to Anaheim Hills turning its back on the needs of the rest of the city, in fact the remaining core of Anaheim would still have a solid tax base, with Disneyland, the Honda Center and Angel Stadium remaining part of the city.

Re "Church opposes gays in Scouts," June 13 As a Baptist, I want to crawl in a hole when I read of such blatant hostility by Christians against gays joining the Boy Scouts of America. The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in America, just does not get it when it comes to sexual issues. Its obsession distorts and hurts religion and morality. It belittles the Bible by imposing anti-gay prejudice into it. Baptists certainly besmirch the legacy of Roger Williams, the English theologian who established the first Baptist church in America.

As an economist, an immigrant and a scholar of the effects of immigration on the U.S. economy, I find that few pieces of legislation have engaged me more than the proposal for comprehensive immigration reform that the full Senate will take up this week. The most heated debates have been about the path to legal status for those undocumented immigrants who are already in the United States. But this bill does much more than that. It changes the rules regulating the future flow of immigrants and of non-immigrant, temporary foreign workers.

The Republican Party has been doing a lot of hand-wringing and finger-pointing since the presidential election. Half the conservative columnists and bloggers say the GOP lost because it overemphasized social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. The other half says the party didn't emphasize them enough. And everyone denounces Project ORCA, the campaign's attempt to turn out voters via technology. But I've got a suggestion for cutting short the GOP angst: Sarah Palin for president in 2016.

Re "Warning on greenhouse gases," June 11 The International Energy Agency, "an independent research group established by the world's most-industrialized nations," has sounded a warning on the perils of climate change if greenhouse gas emissions remain unchecked. The lying, greedy conspiracy of climate scientists has obviously gotten to them. Congress remains uninterested, but a miraculous reversal in interest would suddenly manifest if only the scientific community could outmatch the fossil fuel industry's kickbacks to lawmakers loyally blocking any action.

Re "D.A. alters policy on evidence disclosure," June 12 While I applaud Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey's attempt to clarify her office's policies regarding when prosecutors are required to disclose evidence of police misconduct to defense attorneys, the directive still falls woefully short of the full transparency that is necessary to allow defense attorneys to investigate allegations of misconduct and prepare a defense where an...