Senior writer Doug Smith scouts Los Angeles for the ragged edges where public policy meets real people, combining data analysis and gumshoe reporting to tell L.A. stories through his 50 years of experience covering the city. As past database editor from 2004 through 2015, he hunted down and analyzed data for news and investigative projects. Besides “Grading the Teachers,” he contributed to investigations of construction abuse in the community college system and the rising toll of prescription drug overdoses. Smith has been at The Times since 1970, covering local and state government, criminal justice, politics and education. He was the lead writer for Times’ coverage of the infamous North Hollywood shootout, winner of a 1997 Pulitzer Prize. Between 2005 and 2008, Smith made five trips to Iraq on loan to our foreign desk.
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When L.A. County nixed a plan to build a new jail, Supervisor Hilda Solis saw an opportunity to use the land for homeless housing. In under five months, the unused parking lot has been transformed into 232 units of permanent and interim housing at $200,000 per unit, a record for speed and cost.
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Massive job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will leave tens of thousands of low-wage workers without homes over the next three years, a report published Tuesday by a Los Angeles-based research group forecasts.
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All but one of the escapees, who officials said used a homemade rope to escape, is facing charges for violent felonies, including murder.
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No suspect has yet been identified in a Boyle Heights shooting that left one dead and two in critical condition.
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A rise in deaths of homeless people is being driven by drug overdoses involving fentanyl, a report by L.A. County public health officials concludes.
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The head of Los Angeles homeless initiative, which has coordinated the county’s response to the homelessness crisis and managed the disbursement of hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, is stepping down.
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The coronavirus is finally hitting people living in L.A. County homeless shelters, after months of surprise the pandemic had not already ravaged a vulnerable community.
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Jeffrey “Animal” Pereira lived in the camps along the L.A. River. His infectious personality was remembered Sunday by volunteer outreach workers and congregants of a Silver Lake church who were touched by his friendship.
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Councilman Paul Koretz asks city agencies to find ways to reduce tiny-home costs that can hit $130,000
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Plans to employ the minimalist structures, known as ‘tiny homes,’ have blossomed into expensive development projects.