Specialization

 An intriguing story from SFGate.com about injuries rising as young athletes focus on one sport should create lots of debate. There has been discussion about whether specialization was good or bad for young athletes. Now there's growing interest about injuries surfacing from overuse. Eric.sondheimer@latimes.com  

If you live in Southern California, you've gotten - or will get - a parking or speeding ticket. It's an immutable law of nature. And in tandem with this natural phenomenon, a cottage industry of legal professionals has taken root to assist people in navigating and, possibly, beating the system. Take, for example, a company called the Ticket Clinic, which has offices throughout the region and boasts that it "may be your best bet for getting your traffic ticket dismissed. " Among other services, the Ticket Clinic says, it can "keep additional points off of your driving record" and "prevent skyrocketing insurance rates resulting from a traffic ticket.

In reference to "One Casualty of Clinton's Health Plan: Freedom to Choose" (Sept. 22), I want to discuss reasons for specialization in medical practice and Park Nicollet cost saving and innovation. I agree with the main premise of the article, that medical care rationing is most likely in our future. Columnist James Flanigan is, however, perpetuating a myth that has gained wide acceptance through repetition by policy wonks and the media: that "the vast majority of medical students have gone into specialized practice because that's where the higher incomes have been."

A pop-up book and a smartphone prop. A pretty little poncho and a sturdy, stylish tripod. A comfy new pillow and a little lamb that lulls you to sleep. These are some of the finds that just might wind up on your wish list - or your shopping list for the traveler in your life. Here are ideas curated by staff writers An Amlotte, Chris Erskine, Catharine Hamm, Anne Harnagel and Christopher Reynolds. Happy shopping. Luggage Know when to fold 'em I lust after luggage the way many women lust after handbags.

As a doctor, Marvin, you surely must know the dangers inherent in practicing outside one's area of specialization. WES CLARK El Toro

The Soviet Union and nine Communist allies launched a 15-year program to upgrade their economies in areas ranging from microelectronics to atomic energy. Prime ministers of the 10-nation trade bloc Comecon signed the accord, prepared during the last 12 months by Soviet officials, after a two-day meeting in Moscow. The program calls for more cooperation, specialization by individual member-countries in certain branches of industry, increased labor productivity and higher-quality goods.

In a lifetime of work as a professional librarian and avid bibliophile, I have seldom read a book review as concerned and caring as the one by Lee Dembart of "The Civilized Engineer" by Samuel C. Florman ("An Engineer Extols Virtues of a Humanistic Outlook," April 28). It strikes me as an important book for educators and intellectuals alike to read and ponder over, especially in this age of specialization and computerization. For even if the cultural gap between science and humanism cannot be bridged, as Dembart states, at least with profound pleas such as Florman's, there can be communication.

Greenberg correctly points out that indeed some are given undeserved continuing medical education (CME) credits. In all fairness, it must be pointed out that given the cost for attending any medical meeting, it would be foolish for any professional not to try to get his money's worth of education. It is certainly utopian for anyone to believe that there exists a foolproof system to guarantee competence. With the increasing sophistication and specialization in medicine, it is nearly impossible to devise a reliable test to relicense each physician periodically.

"Neither reading nor writing flourishes in our blessed United States," Cleanth Brooks, the eminent literary critic, said recently. "In important respects, we are an illiterate nation." Anyone even mildly interested in literature, language and words knows the truth of Prof. Brooks' lament. Part of the problem, at least, is the increased specialization demanded by a highly specialized world.

Prosecutors in the Randy Steven Kraft murder trial say a paper with 61 entries, found in his car trunk when he was arrested May 14, 1983, is a death list--Kraft's own score card of how many young men he had killed dating back to late 1971. Kraft's attorneys deny it is a death list, and call it meaningless information that will only inflame his jury. Kraft himself, in a 1983 interview, called the list nothing more than references to friends of his and his roommate at the time.

SACRAMENTO - The musical chairs in California's Legislature continues when voters in a Los Angeles-area Assembly district go to the polls Tuesday in a special election to fill a vacant seat. One of the three candidates in the contest - all Democrats - is Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who is hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father, Mark Ridley-Thomas, who served in the Legislature before being elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. The other candidates are former Culver City Mayor Christopher R. Armenta and John Jake, a real estate broker who is president of the Olympic Park Neighborhood Council.

Re "Let the governor fill seats," Column, Nov. 25 George Skelton points out a clearly regrettable waste of about $1 million that taxpayers spend every time we hold a special election because a state legislator changed his mind about doing the job he was elected to do. Having the governor appoint a replacement isn't the worst of ideas, but why not simply offer the job to the runner-up? At least the replacement would be someone who ran for the office and had the support of at least a chunk of the people.

If you are among America's well-to-do, you may have noticed that the airline industry has been rolling out the red carpet for you lately. For good reason. The number of affluent travelers has risen in the last few years, according to a report by the travel marketing agency MMGY Global and research firm Harrison Group. Defined as those with an annual household income of $250,000 or more, affluent travelers make up 6% of the leisure travel market, up from 4% in 2010, according to the report.

Albuquerque voters resoundingly rejected an antiabortion initiative Tuesday that would have banned the procedure after 20 weeks, with record-breaking turnout for a special election. The nation's first citywide measure to limit abortion lost by nearly 10 percentage points, about 55% to 45%. More than 87,000 voters cast ballots, including 50,000 who voted early or absentee. In all, about a quarter of the city's approximately 360,000 registered voters participated, a record for a special election, officials said.

UCLA Coach Jim Mora gathered his football team's leaders days before the Bruins played Stanford, and Ryan Hofmeister stood out in the crowd. There was tall and athletic quarterback Brett Hundley, powerful linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks, massive offensive linemen Xavier Su'a-Filo and Jake Brendal, and Hofmeister, a smallish, little-known junior linebacker. Hofmeister looked around at the group he was in and "was a little flustered. " Who was out of place? Turns out, no one. Captain Crab, a nickname Hofmeister acquired because of how low he runs during drills, deserves a place with the in-crowd, say his teammates, who made him a team captain this season.

Friday Night Lights comes to Los Angeles, with UCLA looking for a rerun against Washington. The Bruins have beaten the Huskies seven consecutive times at the Rose Bowl. Staff writer Chris Foster examines the story lines: Jack attack UCLA freshman linebacker-turned-running-back Myles Jack became something of a celebrity last week by gaining 120 yards in six carries, including a 66-yard touchdown, against Arizona in his debut on offense. Washington Coach Steve Sarkisian is mindful of Jack, who played across Lake Washington from the University of Washington campus at Bellevue High.

Dale Brown says Chris Jackson is "a very unique man." "Somewhere along his life," Brown said this week, "the good Lord reached down and touched him on the shoulder. He gave him special skills and He gave him a special attitude." He also gave Chris Jackson to Dale Brown and Louisiana State University. And ever since, it has been Jackson who has been doing most of the giving. With this 6-foot-1, 170-pound freshman point guard from Gulfport, Miss., averaging 28.1 points, 4.2 assists, 3.

Actor Robert Young, who for 10 years served as the ideal TV patriarch in "Father Knows Best" and went on to star in "Marcus Welby, M.D.," attempted suicide at his Westlake Village home last week, authorities said Saturday. Lt. Bob Barrier, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, said Young, 83, ran a hose from the exhaust pipe to his car's interior last Saturday about 7:45 a.m. Authorities were alerted after Young called a tow truck to try to start his car.

At first, Clippers Coach Doc Rivers offered up a cliche, saying the matchup Wednesday night at Staples Center between L.A. and the Oklahoma City Thunder was "just another game. " But in the same breath, Rivers talked about how good the Thunder is and the challenge Oklahoma City will present for his Clippers. "When you play Miami or Oklahoma City or San Antonio they're special, fun games," Rivers said. "And for me, everything is new as a coach. I have a new team. So they're all new experiences and you're trying to just get as much out of each game as you can. You learn stuff that you can do the next time with this group.

Question: I am a single woman, and none of my single friends has the money to take a vacation. And my married friends want to travel with their spouses. Yet everything I see is geared for two. I don't want to have a stranger as my roommate at a resort, on a cruise or on a singles trip. Do you have any suggestions so I don't have to pay the huge premium to have my own room? A. Siegel Studio City Answer: This is an age-old problem for single and older women who want to travel but don't want to get stuck with a big bill, with a whack-job roommate or with being the odd woman out. People who are paired up aren't always welcoming to solo travelers, said Mary Ann Zimmerman, who runs SWT Tours ( www.poshnosh.com )