Simi Valley SweepsA Latino advocacy group is...

Simi Valley Sweeps

A Latino advocacy group is denouncing Simi Valley gang sweeps in which federal immigration agents accompany local police (B1). That practice, activists say, could make illegal immigrants reluctant to report crimes. . . . But Police Chief Randy Adams says the policy is sound: “To me, zero tolerance means if you have any illegal activity, you marshal any resources you can toward that activity.”

Long-Term Gain?

Physicians at Columbia Los Robles Hospital’s new pain-care clinic are trying to fight an old problem with some new weapons. New for them, at least. . . . “We’re not against anything that works,” says Dr. Kamyar Assil, the center’s medical director. Patients may be treated with techniques rarely offered by hospitals, such as physical therapy, relaxation training and dietary restrictions.

What The . . . ?

This week, Mr. Street Smart turns his attention to rush-hour hassles (B1). Why, one reader wants to know, does the Ronald Reagan Freeway lose two right lanes and gain a left lane in the space of a couple of nanoseconds? . . . And can’t Caltrans post a minimum speed limit on the Moorpark Freeway, to weed out those super-slow trucks that seem to lead a convoy of glowering drivers who can’t quite bully their way into the fast lane?