Volunteer

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.

The teenager showed up in a panic on Thursday, cradling a wounded puppy in arms spattered with blood. A stray dog had attacked his 2-month-old pit bull on a walk near their South Los Angeles home. The city animal shelter nearby was the only place he knew to go. He ran over to Amanda Casarez, pleading for help. She took one look at the puppy's bloody gash and pulled out her cellphone. Within hours the pup was in surgery, the vet bill guaranteed by strangers from a pool of volunteers working with Downtown Dog Rescue, which sponsors an intervention program at the shelter.

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.

JULIAN, Calif. - To the outside world, this mountain hamlet in northeast San Diego County is best known for apple pie, snow during the holiday season and bed-and-breakfasts that cater to romantic flatlanders. For many of its 1,500 residents, however, the essence of their community is represented not by the delights that await tourists but by the dedication and heroism of the volunteer fire department that has guarded their homes and businesses for four decades. In Southern California's never-ending fight against backcountry, wind-driven brush fires, Julian is on the front lines.

WEST, Texas -- Bryce Reed stuffed the trunk of his vehicle with Gatorade at a Best Western hotel and braced himself for what would come next. Before heading to the scene of a devastating explosion that killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 160 others, the incident commander with West Emergency Medical Services would have to tell his best friend's family that he had died after both of them responded to a fertilizer plant fire that preceded...

Leanore Minghini's long list of good works on behalf of Valley youth and seniors needs to be enhanced to do her justice ("Volunteer Aided Disabled Youth," April 8). In the '60s she helped organize the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks Ecology Council, which set up a newspaper recycling bin in Sherman Oaks. She and her husband oversaw its operation and, in fact, maintained it even when newsprint prices fell so low that other collectors closed down. Profits were shared with a wide range of community groups.

"Volunteer travel is the best way to become part of the local scene, to give of yourself, to see the benefits of your shared skills and time, and to return home with fond memories," says Sheryl Kayne, author of "Volunteer Vacations Across America" (Countryman Press, 2009). Here are some of her favorite volunteer vacations in the U.S. Heifer Ranch Perryville, Ark. Heifer International works to end world hunger by providing sustainable gifts of livestock and agricultural training to impoverished people around the world.

When Robert Reid discovered that Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula needed volunteers at its 12-Mile Beach, he raised his hand and became one of the corps of souls who collected visitors' fees and inspected the site, which he describes as paradise. Reid, U.S. travel editor for Lonely Planet guides, thinks volunteering closer to home can be every bit as satisfying as going abroad. "So often we automatically consider volunteering as something to do outside the country," he says.

Meet Each Need with Dignity (MEND), a social service organization at 13460 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima, needs volunteer dental assistants for a newly renovated clinic that opened recently after being closed for six months. Volunteer dentists are also needed to serve half-day shifts once a month. For more information, call Sandra Bihlmeyer at (818) 897-2443.

The thrust of the article on the library agency on Feb. 6 should (have been) on the volunteer efforts of Linda Kapala, who has organized this money-raising effort for the library. The library services approved Kapala's efforts. She got the names of the businesses, organized the volunteers to stuff envelopes, has planned this countywide drive and should be so honored. MARJORIE GRATE, Camarillo

WEST, Texas - Residents here know the code of sirens, the language of a small-town Texas fire department. As the big fire trucks lumber along, one blast means they're heading to a small blaze; two means a fire drill or meeting. Then things get serious: Three blasts signify major structural damage; four that a person is trapped inside a vehicle, and nine blasts warn of a tornado. This week, the volunteers in the 29-member department suited up and raced to the scene of danger once again.

WEST, Texas -- Bryce Reed stuffed the trunk of his vehicle with Gatorade at a Best Western hotel and braced himself for what would come next. Before heading to the scene of a devastating explosion that killed at least 11 people and wounded more than 160 others, the incident commander with West Emergency Medical Services would have to tell his best friend's family that he had died after both of them responded to a fertilizer plant fire that preceded...

As Urs Fischer stood inside the Geffen Contemporary last month preparing for his big MOCA survey, the museum's much-discussed financial troubles did not seem to be weighing on him. "I don't care about any of that; I care about art," said the beefy 39-year-old artist in jeans and a long-sleeve black T-shirt, with assorted tattoos snaking up his arms. And he noted that his show has not been shortchanged because of any budget crunch. "Putting on a sculpture show always takes a lot of effort, but we didn't have to compromise much.

If the penal code had a section on landscaping crimes, the Los Angeles Police Department would need a full-time squad to go after everyone responsible for the ongoing fiasco on its own property. It's been 3 1/2 years since the new headquarters opened at 1st and Spring streets, and the city is still trying to get the landscaping right, with planter boxes empty, dead palm trees still standing, a scrubby dirt garden near the memorial to fallen police officers and piles of soil and sand blighting the landscape.

A volunteer hiker who heard the cries for help from missing hiker Nicolas Cendoya credited "an amazing amount of luck" for the rescue. Ted Sindzinski said he spent Wednesday hiking in the area and decided to join the volunteers searching for Cendoya and Kyndall Jack, 18. He joined up with a friend of the pair about 5 p.m. and decided to do a “simple, 10-minute hike, just to look around places that perhaps somebody didn't have time to go...

Volunteers who are helping authorities search for two missing hikers in Orange County are being urged to take extra precautions of their own. In a statement released by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, authorities said individuals who want to contribute to the effort should "be prepared, be safe and have a plan. " "When hiking in wilderness areas, be prepared for the unexpected," the statement said. Kyndall Jack, 18, and Nicholas Cendoya, 19, both of Costa Mesa, got lost on Easter Sunday, telling authorities late that evening that they were about a mile from their car in Holy Jim Canyon.

Atop his chocolate mare JJ, Rene Herrera follows a dirt path from Gabrielino Equestrian Park on the eastern end of Hansen Dam Recreation Area to a nearby creek shaded by cottonwoods. Families with coolers and bags of food have beaten Herrera and two other horse riders there, seeking refuge in the wooded waterside from temperatures in the 90s. While a dozen children splash around in a swimming hole, the adults kick back in hammocks and camp chairs, eating grilled chicken and shooting the breeze.

Allan K. Jonas, a Los Angeles real estate developer and a longtime leader and volunteer with the American Cancer Society, the American Civil Liberties Union and other civic and political groups in Southern California, has died. He was 91. Jonas died Sunday at UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica of complications from pneumonia, his son Tony Jonas said. A resident of Los Angeles since 1948, Allan Jonas built his real estate career in the 1950s when he began purchasing and constructing commercial properties near Los Angeles International Airport, which had just started to be used for commercial airline service.

The American Cancer Society is looking for 120,000 volunteers for a long-term study, called Cancer Prevention Study 3 , that could help determine cancer risks for future generations. “Many cancer patients struggle to answer the question, 'What caused my cancer?' In many cases, we don't know the answer,” said Alpa V. Patel, the study's principal investigator. “CPS-3 will help us better understand what factors cause cancer, and once we know that, we can be better equipped to prevent cancer.” Earlier studies, CPS-1 and CPS-2, helped determine the links between smoking and cancer and weight and cancer, said Eric Beikmann, cancer society spokesman.

Visitors to Maui now have a way to stay connected to four-legged friends, even if the family pets are back home, thousands of miles away. The Maui Humane Society is giving pet lovers a chance  to interact with homeless dogs and cats in need of some human kindness. Starting Wednesday, the “Helping Paws Visitor Program” will let tourists lend a “helping paw” at the society's animal shelter 1-4 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays. After a brief orientation, vacationers-turned-volunteers will participate in activities such as bathing puppies, brushing cats and walking dogs.