In the News

1. This is the feel-good armed robbery story of the year. I wish all violent conflicts could be resolved with wine and hugs.

2. Twenty years of NIMBYist political opposition to expanding the subway west along Wilshire Boulevard have faded away, but there still isn't any money for it, which is a shame, because of the various proposed rail lines in L.A., it's probably the segment that would do the most good. Even with the various planned expansions, though, we're decades away from the Metro Rail being really comprehensive.

3. This "inland port" idea, however, is one of the best ideas for reducing congestion I've seen in a while. There's no reason why so much non-local cargo should be on our highways instead of on rail lines while it's still in the urban core.

4. All the merits or demerits of "torture porn" aside, good call on Patt Morrison for exposing the Captivity marketing campaign's dishonest, alarmist, exploitative, and grossly misleading use of missing person statistics.

5. Brain researcher Drew Westen's research backs up what I've been saying about the Democrats for years --- they need candidates who will connect with voters' emotions, not the policy lecturers. Will they take his advice? Probably not, but we can hope.