No on Measure A

Los Angeles was once a great place to grow up, and it wasn't just because of the sunshine and the beach. Kids here enjoyed a great public school system, true, but it was more than that. They had an infrastructure of first-rate libraries, organized after-school activities, safe parks, job-training programs and community service projects. The city's best-known contributions to the world were healthy, well-educated, successful young people. Gang life beckoned to some, but youths who wanted to stay out of that life generally could. There were options.

October 10, 2008