Maria L. La Ganga
Maria L. La Ganga is the former Seattle bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, with responsibilities for the Pacific Northwest, Alaska and Hawaii. She joined The Times in 1981 as an academic intern, splitting her time between the former Metro section and National Dragster, the official publication of the National Hot Rod Assn. She has served as San Francisco bureau chief, edited in the Business section and pitched in on five presidential elections. La Ganga left The Times in 2015.
Recent Articles
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Planned Parenthood sues Texas over Medicaid funding
Planned Parenthood and 10 of its patients sued the state of Texas on Monday to block officials from cutting off Medicaid funds, calling the state’s actions political and part of a long-term pattern of denying reproductive healthcare to women. “Women in Texas today have fewer rights than they did...
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A generation of memories steam-cleaned off Seattle's 'gross' but 'beautiful' Gum Wall
With a loud, hot burst of steam — 260 degrees Fahrenheit or so — a generation’s worth of history began oozing away early Tuesday. A million pieces of chewed gum, along with the germs from a million mouths, some healthier than others. The brightly colored backdrop for countless photographs — selfies,...
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New art museum celebrates the distinct Pacific Northwest
Lindsey Echelbarger surveyed the Central Gallery, his favorite spot in the newly opened Cascadia Art Museum. Richly colored paintings glowed in the soft light, set off by crisp white walls and soaring, beamed ceilings. Patrons leaned in close, transfixed by the sweep and detail of the carefully...
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A Portland community's batty idea: collect guano for its gardens
It was a dark and stormy night that brought the bats to Rose Villa. No, really. The squall hit before Memorial Day weekend in 2013, battering the vast array of heirloom tomato plants into a sickly approximation of their former bright-green glory. So Kathleen Paveletz unleashed her secret weapon....
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1 still missing after Canada whale-watching boat sinks, killing 5
The three men were fishing for halibut off the west coast of Vancouver Island when the Leviathan II radioed for help. But by the time Marcel Martin could pilot his boat to the foundering whale-watching vessel, it was too late to do more than drag bodies from the frigid water. When Marcel, his father,...
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Divers search for missing passenger after whale-watching boat sinks, killing 5
Divers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police searched Monday for a passenger who was missing in the frigid waters off Vancouver Island, after a weekend whale-watching boat sank, killing five passengers. The Leviathan II was carrying 27 people when it sank Sunday afternoon about eight miles west...
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Planned Parenthood video fallout: Texas defunds group; court orders Louisiana to pay
A video campaign aimed at Planned Parenthood continued to ripple through women’s health services Monday, as Texas officials announced that the Lone Star State would eliminate funding for the organization on the same day a federal court halted efforts in Louisiana to do the very same thing. The...
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Planned Parenthood stops accepting payment for fetal tissue used for research
After months of controversy, multiple investigations and a campaign by congressional Republicans to end its federal funding, Planned Parenthood said Tuesday that it would continue harvesting fetal tissue for medical research but would no longer accept payment to cover its related expenses. Cecile...