Speaking

Louis C.K., the star and creative force behind FX's "Louie," feels bad for his unlucky-in-love alter ego. "I don't know what's going to happen to that guy," the actor-comedian said when asked during a Television Critics' Assn. session to promote "Louie"  if the lead character would ever find a soul mate. Said C.K., "I've had so much better luck than him. I'm starting to feel a little bad for him. Maybe in Season 4 I'll park him with a girlfriend, let him fail at having a relationship.: FX announced that it had just renewed the series, which revolves around a hapless stand-up comic, for a fourth season.

Re "Warren upends bankers, tradition," May 11 As the newest member of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is a breath of fresh air. Finally, there's a voice in Washington for the people and a staunch advocate for consumers. Although she's ranked 97th out of 100 in seniority, Warren's intelligence and knowledge of financial regulation have shaken the good-old-boys network to its foundation. Her presence on the committee is one to be reckoned with.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa spoke publicly for the first time Monday about the breakup of his 20-year marriage, saying he was responsible for the split even as he refused to talk about what caused it. In a somber meeting with reporters at City Hall, Villaraigosa declined to answer questions about whether the break with his wife, Corina, was triggered by another romantic relationship.

The family of Mickey Mantle has applied a corkscrew to Grey Flannel Auctions. On May 3, the auction house announced it would be auctioning an authentic Mantle bat at the end of May. Oh, and it said there was something special about this particular bat: It was corked. The auction announcement was accompanied by a statement from John Taube, a professional bat authenticator, which said, "During our examination of the bat, we noticed a circular area .75 inches wide in the center of the top barrel.

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.

WELL, I guess Gwyneth Paltrow, or anyone for that matter, is not allowed to have a negative opinion of President Bush ... and that poor woman from Irvine [Letters, Sept. 18], afraid to speak her mind. This is a democracy? VICTORIA GROSTICK San Luis Obispo

State lawmakers passed measures Thursday to protect foreign-speaking business patrons and make life tough for waterfowl that imperil airline travelers. Worried that geese and jets don't mix, the Senate approved a bill that would give airports greater authority to avoid run-ins with game wardens if they need to kill birds that could interfere with jets. Meanwhile, the Assembly approved a measure that would prohibit restaurants and other establishments from refusing to serve patrons because they're speaking a different language.

We should be grateful to Culver City Councilman Steven Gourley for speaking up about problems stemming from overpopulation in Los Angeles and the continuing flow of legal and illegal immigrants into this area (Times, Aug. 18). A key phrase in one of Gourley's answers to questions about illegal immigration is, ". . . and no one seems to want to do anything about it." Unfortunately, the longer we remain quiet the worse the problems become. Silence is not a virtue when one sees serious disorder developing.

Generally speaking, "Old soldiers never die." Privately speaking, "Only the young ones do." ED KYSAR, Reseda

Learning more than one language is a 21st century skill. It provides students with economic opportunities across the globe and at home. Many students enter our schools fluent in a language other than English. They speak Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Farsi, Arabic, Khmer and dozens of other languages important in international trade. They come with a resource. Ideally, these students — more than 1.5 million in California who enter school speaking a language other than English — would gain English proficiency while enhancing their home language skills.

Dependable and steady, Maribel Ramos was a hard-charging Army veteran just a couple of weeks away from graduating from college with a degree in criminal justice. Beyond all else, friends agree, she was not the kind of person who'd simply walk away. But Ramos, 36, has been missing for 11 days, seen last on surveillance footage turning in her rent check at her apartment complex in Orange on May 2. She was reported missing the next day, a Friday, after she failed to show up for a speaking commitment at a veterans group event and then never showed at the softball game she'd played weekly for almost six years.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Dianne Feinstein made headlines recently by demanding a forceful U.S. response to Syria's use of chemical weapons against its population. Less noticed was that the California Democrat wasn't urging deeper military involvement or other dramatic steps, but only a new push for action by the United Nations Security Council, which has already rejected Western-backed resolutions on Syria three times. In this cautious approach, Feinstein, who is chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is not alone.

Massing the heavy legal artillery of 1st Amendment principles, a federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government can't order businesses to post signs informing employees that they have a right to join a union and to bargain for better wages. It's a troubling ruling. The case stems from a 2011 decision by the National Labor Relations Board that employers must "post notices to employees, in conspicuous places," informing them of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act, and include the information in electronic mailings.

Question: I have lived in my current apartment building for three years with no problems, but recently a new manager took over. I originally came to the U.S. on a work visa; I was born and raised in China and speak Cantonese as my first language. As a result, I speak with a heavy accent. I am also much more comfortable with written English than with speaking English. About a month ago, I got a notice of a rent increase from the new manager, which surprised me because I had just gotten a rent increase a few months earlier.

It was a fine April day last week that found Elie Wiesel at Chapman University; it was a fine April day too, 58 years earlier, when the gaunt, teenage Wiesel found himself alive and suddenly free to walk out of the Buchenwald concentration camp. In the decades since, Wiesel's impassioned writing and speaking have won him a Nobel Peace Prize, and a large place in the public intellectual discourse about the Holocaust and the human condition. They have also brought him to Chapman each spring for the last three years as a distinguished presidential fellow, meeting with students and faculty to keep the significance of the Holocaust green in their minds.

BOSTON - In an extraordinary proceeding in a hospital room Monday, federal authorities charged Dzhokhar Tsarnaev with using a weapon of mass destruction in the bombings that killed three people and injured more than 200 others at last week's Boston Marathon. Appearing at the bedside of the grievously wounded 19-year-old, a federal magistrate read the criminal charges against him and advised him of his legal rights. If convicted, Tsarnaev, a Russian immigrant who became a U.S. citizen last year, could face the death penalty.

Happy new decade (technically speaking). MICHAEL E. LEVITON Encino

I was pleased to see "Speaking of Implants" (Feb. 24) about how Jenny Jones decided to "come out" with her personal tales of the negative effects that breast implants have had on her body. It is great that we now have a public figure speaking out and informing the public on the dangers that accompany breast implants. EVA FIELDS North Hollywood

You'll have to forgive the nicest guy in the NBA if he ignores your complimentary tweets for several weeks. Jamal Crawford is not being rude. He is, to put it in his words, "#onamission. " The Clippers guard has vowed to stay off Twitter during the playoffs, apologizing to his roughly 279,600 followers with a 140-character missive on the eve of his team's series opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. "Anything worth having is worth working hard for, thank you guys for all the support," Crawford tweeted Friday.

"China only releases 20 foreign films each year," a title card at the beginning of "Unmade in China" informs us, adding, "This is NOT one of them. " No kidding. Co-directed by Tanner King Barklow and Gil Kofman, this genial documentary details what happened when Los Angeles-based director Kofman took a job in China to make a motion picture in a language he did not speak. It's a cautionary tale of sorts, but the story is so strange it is often not clear exactly what it's cautioning us against.