Jim Newton

Karen Bass was considered the more liberal candidate in the Los Angeles mayoral race, but as all mayors quickly discover, there's no liberal or conservative way to fill potholes. Problems are simply problems. Her proposal to increase the police budget reveals how she has adjusted to the realities of city government.

California politicians need to show visible results in order to justify ongoing spending on homelessness. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom agree that clearing encampments is key. But making homelessness invisible fails to solve the root problems. As Bass emphasizes permanent solutions, will small gains be enough?

The water crisis in the West and the decline of the Colorado River are going to require painful changes for Southern California farms, and a lot less water.

Southern California could reassert itself as the political epicenter of California after Senator Dianne Feinstein retires next year. The congressional candidates vying to succeed her, and the vacancies their campaigns have created, provide opportunities for officeholders who are younger, more liberal and more rooted in Southern California.

From affluent Riverside neighborhoods to disadvantaged communities in San Bernardino, the proliferation of warehouses across the Inland Empire is affecting everyone who calls this region home. Yet despite the increased pollution and risk of displacement near proposed sites, residents are struggling to be heard by their elected representatives.

The recent reappointment of Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore focused the attention on his work as a reformer rather than a crime-fighter. As L.A. history shows, law enforcement can do both. The more recent stumbles are less about the false choice between the two approaches, and more about the effectiveness of management.

In 1980, the Inland Empire was home to 234 warehouses. There are now more than 4,000, providing significant economic benefits for the region. But this growth also has consequences: more unhealthy air days in predominantly Latino communities. Following the release of a new report, a coalition is asking state leaders to intervene.

Residents in both New York City and Chicago have at least 50 local representatives voicing their needs. Los Angeles has 15. After last year's council audio leak revealed how some L.A. officials tried to manipulate redistricting, California's largest city is reconsidering how it handles representation.

Los Angeles has been forced to reboot before, and this time the job falls to Karen Bass, the first woman elected as mayor of the nation's second-largest city. She promised urgent action on homelessness at her swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. Her ability to make visible progress has implications for Democrats in California and nationally.