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in Los Angeles Times
by
Joe Mozingo, 14 May 2008
Mozingo tells the story of first-generation Afghan immigrant Basir Beria, who owns a kite store cum convenience store on Lankershim Boulevard and dreams of making his living flying and selling kites. Beria, who immigrated to southern California 23 years ago, flies his homemade kites whenever he has a free moment, whether at competitions or just in front of his store. After DreamWorks hired him as a kite master for their production of The Kite Runner, Beria took the gamble along with all his savings and opened his little store. Mozingo tells a fascinating immigrant story; the attached video is also a treat.
Posted 2:30, 14 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Christopher Schuetze
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Jonah Goldberg, 13 May 2008
Writing as fervently as the title suggests, Goldberg tackles nuclear waste and terror suspects -- as he puts it, both need to be contained until we work out what to do with them. He argues that nuclear power is unavoidable if the US is to meet carbon emission targets, and if the Yucca Mountain disposal site will keep it safe for a few thousand years, that's good enough. Meanwhile, Guantanamo Bay may be controversial, but the pre-2001 strategy of treating terrorists like bank robbers clearly didn't make America safer. Goldberg's views may not be to everyone's taste, but there's certainly little room for misinterpretation.
Posted 2:03, 13 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Kevin Baxter, 12 May 2008
Baxter peeks into the locker room for a profile of Erica Ford, seamstress and laundry lady to professional baseball's Los Angeles Angels. Revealing details color the piece (manager Mike Scioscia wears his pants inside out during win-streaks "to keep the luck in") as this critical yet unheralded staff member comments on how trade deals, pine tar, and the composition of the stadium's infield dirt impact her job. All in all, it's an interesting look behind the clubhouse for any curious baseball fan.
Posted 2:45, 12 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Jake Melville
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Carol J. Williams, 8 May 2008
Williams interviews Rosa, a poor Cuban retiree, and describes her monthly household budget to shed light on the problem of Cuba's dual currency system. Rosa, along with all those on government incomes, belongs to the poorer of Cuba's parallel economies, while those earning the convertible peso -- in exchange for useful skills or work in the tourist industry -- are starting to see available European and Asian consumer goods. Williams' piece is a heart-wrenching portrait of Cuba's lower class but falls short of being an informative report about Cuba’s dual economies.
Posted 12:16, 8 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Christopher Schuetze
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Richard Marosi, 7 May 2008
Border officials near San Diego are now running random checks on buses destined for Mexico, with illegal immigrants arrested, their details recorded, and then formally deported. Critics say it's a waste of resources to target those who are already leaving the country, but officials say such people are still criminals. There are also claims that the scheme helps crack down on smuggling and money laundering and that it's a form of deterrence. Marosi keeps his piece simple, letting both sides of the debate get their point across.
Posted 4:54, 7 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Louise Roug, 7 May 2008
In gridlocked New York City, the number of bicyclists is up 75 percent in the past seven years, but still makes up just 1 percent of all commuting. There are plans for a Manhattan-wide bike lane network, but until then cyclists must fight for space with drivers and pedestrians. Bike riders fearing traffic often stick to sidewalks, which pushes pedestrians into the road. Activists say the problem won't clear until traffic cops put more emphasis on ticketing car owners who park in bike lanes. Roug explains the logistical issues, though some of her description is distractingly twee.
Posted 2:43, 7 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Evan Halper, 6 May 2008
California regulations on using cooking grease to fuel diesel vehicles are so complex that even Arnold Schwarzenegger has technically breached the rules. It's thought that 250,000 people nationwide use cooking oil to drive vehicles -- many of them in California -- yet hardly anyone in the state has the required $300 license. Those who do must battle their way though paperwork and then pay 18 cents per gallon in taxes. Halper gives some particularly effective examples of the state's ineffective bureaucracy.
Posted 2:48, 6 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.
The death of the Microsoft-Yahoo merger is great news for the leaders of the online advertising market; As one analyst put it, "Google can now go back to eating Yahoo's lunch uninterrupted." Google had done its best to scupper the planned takeover by trialing an ad partnership with Yahoo, while simultaneously claiming a Microsoft-Yahoo combination would be anti-competitive. But a full-fledged Google-Microsoft war seems unlikely, as they'll largely stick to online advertising and software production, respectively. The writers help readers make sense of the intricate Internet business rivalries.
Posted 2:47, 6 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.
in Los Angeles Times
by
Don Lee, 5 May 2008
Thanks to a weak dollar and cheap real estate and utilities, a growing wave of Chinese entrepreneurs is investing in the United States in what some have termed a "land grab." However, individual investors aren't the only ones taking advantage of the incentives -- larger players are playing the game as well, such as China's sovereign wealth fund, which last year took a $5 billion stake in Morgan Stanley. While some still harbor concerns about America's restrictive visa rules and the language and cultural barriers they will encounter, most investors realize that the opportunity to expand into America is a key component in being globally competitive. Lee's research flexes a wealth of surprising information.
Posted 1:35, 5 May 2008
This abstract was written by
Brian Willett
and edited by Brijit.
With US food retail prices rising around 5 percent (and some individual items up by half), lawmakers are targeting the $5 billion paid each year to directly subsidize farmers. There's also movement to rethink subsidies for ethanol production over fears that farmers are devoting too much land to corn for biofuels at the expense of grain and over foodstuffs. But agricultural lobbyists say farmers are an easy target; a senator who's also a corn and soybean farmer points out that a farmer makes as little as a dime from a $5 box of Corn Flakes. This article has plenty of detail, but skips from point to point too rapidly to allow a smooth read.
Posted 4:10, 2 May 2008
This abstract was written by
John Lister
and edited by Brijit.