Trying times, tough choices
If some environmental menace posed an immediate threat to your neighborhood, would you fight it with a weapon that has been shown to be effective -- but also has dangerous long-term consequences?
It’s more than a philosophical question in Africa, where malaria kills a child every 30 seconds, and where some countries consider the mosquito-killing DDT to be a possible savior.
The United States banned DDT in 1972, and other Western nations have followed because of concerns that it contaminates water and soil and harms fish, birds and anything higher up in the food chain. But that’s not the top concern of some Africans.
“Why should we look on and watch our people die, when it is within our means to make a difference?” Uganda’s president says. Page A22
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Campaign’s hits keep on coming
A TV ad by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides lambastes opponent Steve Westly for raising campaign money from a “corrupt Chicago businessman.” Left unsaid, though, is that Angelides himself apparently sought contributions from the same man. Page A1
Overall, columnist George Skelton writes, Westly and Angelides are “smearing each other with eye-rolling, mind-numbing accusations.” But Skelton says this isn’t just a byproduct of the current campaign; he blames the mud fest partly on an attack ad Angelides aired 12 years ago -- one that has haunted the candidate ever since. Page B3*
Paper and ink, or zeroes and ones?
Here’s the dilemma for the comic book industry in the age of digital piracy: “No comic sells enough to lose some of the market,” one industry veteran says, so every illegally downloaded edition hurts. On the other hand, cracking down might alienate fans, and in a small market, every reader is important.
The industry is trying to figure out how to cope with the digital age, but in the meantime it’s the little guy who stands to lose the most. A new title that might sell only a few thousand copies at first could lose enough sales because of illegal downloading that it might not survive past its infancy. Page C1
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No cellphones in NYC schools
New York City’s crackdown on cellphones in schools is creating bad vibes.
The school district has long had a policy that’s tougher than in many other school systems: It doesn’t just ban the devices’ use in classrooms, it bans students from carrying them in pockets or backpacks. But only recently have officials started using portable scanners to check for electronic devices. And parents are angry about potentially being unable to contact their kids.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, though, shows no signs of relenting. “You can’t use cellphones in school, and you can’t use iPods. Why can’t you get the message?” he declares. Page A4
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Cannes’ top prize goes to ‘Barley’
The Cannes Film Festival hands out its awards, and the top honor -- the Palme d’Or -- goes to a historical drama, “The Wind That Shakes the Barley,” directed by Britain’s Ken Loach. The film is about Irish rebels in the 1920s battling first the British and then one another, and Loach calls it “a little step in the British confronting their imperialist past.”
Times critic Kenneth Turan says Pedro Almodovar’s “Volver” was the popular favorite for the Palme d’Or but was given two lesser prizes. And, Turan writes, as always with Cannes, the festival juries neglected some excellent films, such as “Pan’s Labyrinth,” from Mexican director Guillermo del Toro. Page E1
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COMING TUESDAY
Executive pay: Who gets what?
The Times publishes its annual survey of executive pay at California’s 100 largest publicly traded companies. This year, coverage includes a look at how pay for corporate honchos is rising so fast that many executives’ packages are now taking a significant bite out of corporate profits, and how many executives seem to have curiously fortuitous timing in their sale of stock options. The section also will examine a controversial proposal by the Securities and Exchange Commission to force disclosure of pay packages to film and TV stars.
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‘There is no sound at all’
The death toll soars in Indonesia, which is reeling from a magnitude 6.3 earthquake. Above, a mother feeds her child amid the ruins of her house in the city of Yogyakarta. A rescue worker in Bawuran says crews hope to hear calls from survivors, but “when we check the sites, we can’t hear any sound of people screaming or crying.” Page A16
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HEALTH
The mystery of charisma
The effect charismatic people such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Princess Diana have on others is undeniable. But what are the components of charisma? Enthusiasm, extroversion and good listening skills have something to do with it. In the wrong hands, however, charisma can be toxic. Page F1
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ON LATIMES.COM
Auto critic takes culture for a spin
Read previous “800 Words” columns by Times automobile critic Dan Neil that discuss what makes America tick and how contemporary trends, entertainment and technology infuse all aspects of our lives.
latimes.com/800wordsTrip tipster: As you plan your summer vacation, check out the tools in the Travel section’s annual sourcebook. Ideas, inspirations, best values and headache avoidance guides -- the things that make a successful vacation -- can all be found online at latimes.com/sourcebook.
Horoscopes: Get daily astrological forecasts for all zodiac signs. Is this a good time to find romance, get a new job, take a vacation or start a business? Find out at latimes.com/horoscopes.
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CALENDAR
What to think of Vargas’ decision?
Charles Gibson, the longtime co-host of “Good Morning America,” begins anchoring ABC’s evening newscast today.
He replaces Elizabeth Vargas, who was to be the female half of an anchoring duo including Bob Woodruff. After Woodruff’s severe injury in Iraq, she had been the sole anchor.
But now the 43-year-old Vargas, citing a difficult pregnancy, has left the broadcast for good. Coming as “World News Tonight” suffers a sharp ratings decline, the decision raised questions among many. Why wouldn’t Vargas return to the anchor chair after her maternity leave?
But some women say it’s understandable.
“I think the generation before us, everyone thought you could have it all,” says a former ABC producer. “And our generation is realizing you have to make choices.” Page E1
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Getty opens show on James Ensor
It’s been a long time since any U.S. institution gave Belgium’s James Ensor individual treatment.
Nearly 20 years ago the J. Paul Getty Museum acquired Ensor’s monumental carnivalesque painting, “Christ’s Entry Into Brussels in 1889.” Now the museum has built an entire show around the man (1860-1949).
“Ensor’s Graphic Modernism” takes a close look at 33 of the artist’s prints, those that specifically resonate with the themes of “Christ’s Entry.”
Eight feet tall and 14 wide, the painting is the show’s centerpiece. Prints radiate around it like orbiting satellites.
Ensor painted portraits, interiors and seascapes. But increasingly he came to spurn decorum. Page E1
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SPORTS
Bonds passes Ruth on home run list
“It can’t get any better than this,” Barry Bonds said after surpassing Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list.
Although his Giants lost the game and his name has been tarnished by allegations of steroid use, Bonds had reason to smile after hitting career homer No. 715 on Sunday off the Colorado Rockies’ Byung-Hyun Kim. It happened in front of the adoring fans of San Francisco, and his son, Nikolai, greeted him at home plate. Bonds’ historic homer wasn’t a cheapie, either; it traveled an estimated 445 feet.
Kim, the 421st pitcher to allow a homer to Bonds, didn’t begrudge the slugger’s feat. “Steroids, no steroids, who knows who’s taking them?” Kim said. “They don’t hit the home runs. He’s a good hitter.” Page D1
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THE WEEK AHEAD
MONDAY
Bush to honor nation’s war dead
President Bush, adhering to convention for Memorial Day, will take part in the presentation of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington. He will also deliver a speech and sign legislation honoring fallen warriors. A second bill to be signed by Bush liberalizes the rules for how troops serving in combat zones may contribute to their individual retirement plans.
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TUESDAY
AIDS experts to meet at U.N.
More than 1,000 AIDS experts and activists will converge at the United Nations for a weeklong review of five years of work against the worldwide epidemic. Laura Bush will lead the U.S. delegation. The emphasis of the international effort is expected to shift more toward prevention and toward helping girls and women, who tend to be disproportionately affected by HIV and often are targets of discrimination.
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THURSDAY
Another plan for LAUSD
More than a year ago, the L.A. City Council, with great fanfare, created and funded a 30-member commission to study how the school district was run -- and how to make it better. Since then, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was swept into office and has offered his plan to take over the LAUSD. Now the council’s commission -- which has received scant media attention -- could make its own recommendations on fixing up the district.
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THURSDAY
Automobile sales figures due
Despite soaring gas prices and growing political concern over the nation’s dependence on imported oil, sales of new vehicles this year have remained relatively strong, down just 0.3% through April from last year. May’s sales figures will be released Thursday, and industry watchers expect them to be flat or down just slightly as truck and SUV sales stall, with a shift to smaller cars -- spurred by fuel costs -- picking up the slack.