Thinking L.A.

Manifest Destiny Behind Home Plate

Tabitha Soren’s Photos Examine America’s Grand Ideas Mixed in With the Dirt and Sweat of the Baseball Diamond

Tabitha Soren isn’t a fan of baseball—and yet, she’s attended more than 100 games across the U.S., stood outside dozens of dugouts, and sifted through stacks of trading cards. It’s not the sport that interests her, but how baseball acts as a metaphor for the fantasies of America, from our fierce individualism to Manifest Destiny.

Soren, a Berkeley-based photographer and former correspondent for MTV News, spent 12 years following a group of young baseball players. The results of that endeavor are now on exhibition at the Kopeikin Gallery in Culver …

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Parched Californians’ Lukewarm Response to Free Water

Last Weekend, South Pasadena Residents Weren’t Desperate Enough to Tap a Recycled Water Source for Their Thirsty Gardens

Sometimes you can’t even give water away, even in a time of drought.

Maybe it was the rain in Southern California that week. Or maybe it was because people couldn’t …

Why California Needs More Police

Instances of Misconduct Will Just Get Worse if the Statewide Shortage in Officers Continues to Grow

by Joe Mathews |

You wouldn’t know it by watching all the news about police-community conflict, or by going to protests against police racism and militarization, or by tracking all the Sacramento legislation on …

Life in L.A. Is One Big ‘Boba’ Fête

Connecting to My Family’s Heritage and History Through a Plastic Straw

by Steven Cong |

I have tried a lot of boba tea. And when I say “a lot,” I mean I’ve visited over 200 tea houses that sell these beverages—teas in a variety of …

Even for the Tech Generation, Online Testing Is a Closed Circuit

When It Comes to Learning Measurements, This High Schooler Wants to Stick With Good Old-Fashioned Pencil and Paper

by Rebecca Castillo |

Remember the days when computers were a passing fad and information was derived from dusty encyclopedias after hours of searching? Me neither. I was born in 1998. By the time …

Panama Canal’s New Move Could Rock the Boat for West Coast Ports

Expansion Could Steal Traffic From What Has Till Now Been the Nation's Largest Maritime Gateway

by Jock O’Connell |

2014 was not an especially good year for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Adjacent to each other on San Pedro Bay, the two ports are collectively the nation’s …


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