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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The Rand Corp. study finds an 18% increase in homelessness over a year in skid row, Hollywood and Venice. The report calls into question decreases in the official count.
The Lunar New Year mass shooting in Monterey Park has residents mourning in their tight-knit suburb once dubbed the “Chinese Beverly Hills” as the population changed.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has spent tens of millions on pro-tenant causes. Yet elderly and disabled tenants at one of its buildings complain they have spent months at a time without a functioning elevator.
A mural commissioned by Metro for the Purple Line station being built on the Department of Veterans Affairs’ West Los Angeles campus has aroused the ire of veterans groups.
The cyberattack surfaced Dec. 31 when individuals who deploy the malware known as LockBit published screenshots representing data they claim to have seized.
The new mayor of Los Angeles instructed city departments to complete all reviews of affordable housing and shelter applications within 60 days. They usually take six to nine months, officials said.
Eviction moratoriums and relief checks helped thousands of people avoid homelessness during the pandemic, a study finds. Its authors say the same measures should be used in the event of a recession.
As she watched her son’s mental health deteriorate, Deborah Smith pleaded to petition for conservatorship so he could be placed under involuntary treatment. One hospital after another declined.
After standing mostly vacant for the last 14 years, the iconic General Hospital is nearing a reincarnation as affordable and homeless housing.
L.A. voters passed measure that will give Karen Bass estimated $600 million annually to fight homelessness. Survey finds they expect results within two years.