Opinion: In today’s pages: Adventures from the writers strike
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In a special send-off of the WGA strike, writers tell tales of picket lines, bad lines and even bread lines. From Kevin Levine, a writer for ‘MASH,’ ‘Cheers’ and ‘Frasier’:
The great American novel that I started four strikes ago is almost done. I figure one more strike, two at the most, and I’ll be ready to send it to my editor (who I hope is still alive; I haven’t heard from him since 1985). So I’ve got a target date of 2014, but I’m close. Really close. I can feel it.
Also on the Op-Ed page, Tim Rutten compliments reporter Joel Rubin’s article on LAUSD’s payroll problems, and clowns the district for its handling of the situation.
The editorial board dismisses the administration’s latest attempt to help struggling homeowners, and awkwardly admits that disenfranchised voters aren’t all that funny when they’re not in Florida. The board also reacts to a report on LAPD use-of-force complaints, and wonders how far police reform has to go:
The real concern arises from the way the complaints about handcuffing or verbal abuse -- or even disturbing allegations about excessive use of force -- are handled. Too often, they are apparently being dismissed without genuine investigation. For example, one complainant said an officer slammed his head against a bench after he tried to write down the officer’s badge number. There was a witness who backed up his statement, and some grainy video footage -- but the complaint was dismissed as ‘unfounded.’
Readers diagnose the failures of the nation’s emergency rooms. Bill Serantoni asks,
Imagine an auto repair shop where people could bring broken cars and the proprietor had to repair the vehicles brought to him whether he was paid for the work or not. How could he run that business?Until the question of payment for service is answered, the crisis will continue.