NATIONAL
April 21, 2014 | By Richard Simon
Thousands of bills are introduced in a congressional session, but only a fraction become law. Even without that success, they call attention to their causes - or their sponsors. Here are a few of the eclectic measures awaiting action in Congress. Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act: Would establish the Apollo Lunar Landing Sites National Historical Park on the moon. Argument for: "In 1969, led by the late Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong, American ingenuity changed history as humanity took a giant leap forward on the surface of the moon," said Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.)
HEALTH
April 18, 2014 | By Mary MacVean
Here are some ideas for a more sustainable workout - for you and, perhaps, the planet. Walk. No equipment, no driving, no gym. If you're more ambitious, run. No more disposable water bottles. Or paper towels. Go old-school, with push-ups, jumping jacks and other exercises or yoga routines you can do at home. Try grown-up playgrounds. Some city parks have "fitness zones," with outdoor gym equipment. There's one set in La Cienega Park, at the corner of La Cienega and Olympic boulevards, with kids' equipment nearby.
NEWS
April 16, 2014 | By Mary Forgione, Daily Deal and Travel Blogger
Finally, someone has designed a luxury hotel suite with wheels. Long-stay AKA Beverly Hills hotel has created a suite inside an Airstream trailer with leather interiors, full kitchen and bathroom, a bed with comfy linens, and even its trademark Bulgari bath amenities. Price-tag for a five-day trip to Santa Barbara: $6,000. Starting May 1, AKA guests can reserve the modified Airstream 2 Go and drive up the coast to spend two nights at Sunstone Vineyards in the wine-growing Santa Ynez Valley and two nights at Ocean Mesa Campground north of Santa Barbara.
HOME & GARDEN
April 4, 2014 | By Marion McNabb
I'd been living in Los Angeles a short time when I found myself in an improv comedy class in Hollywood. A friend who was also an actress had encouraged, well, nagged me to enroll in what is now iO West, the West Coast offshoot of Chicago's ImprovOlympic. I was intimidated, but I also was lonely and looking for a challenge, so I went. That choice, to face my fears and connect with others, forever changed my life. From the outside, the tiny theater space on a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard looked industrial - not the beachy sort of place I, a newcomer to L.A., had imagined it would be. I was not impressed.
NEWS
March 29, 2014 | By Carla Hall
So much ado about leggings. Blogger Charlotte Allen recently took to task the overly sensitive parents of middle schoolers who were outraged that the administration of Haven Middle School in Evanston, Ill., seemed to be banning short-shorts, leggings, yoga pants and skinny jeans on girls because they were too distracting to middle school boys. The parents contended that such an edict essentially said it was the girls' responsibility not to entice hormone-addled middle school boys.
OPINION
March 28, 2014 | By The Times editorial board
University officials and the NCAA have been reluctant to acknowledge that top-tier college football programs are run these days less as athletic programs than as businesses. But a labor administrator's decision Wednesday that Northwestern University's scholarship football players are, in fact, employees with the right to unionize should get their attention. This issue has been bubbling for decades as major sports programs evolved from important but ancillary parts of a college's mission into powerful businesses enriched by multimillion-dollar TV contracts and merchandising revenue, all built on the labor of student-athletes who received no compensation beyond scholarships.