“Alligator Alcatraz” will begin operations on Wednesday. This is your reminder that a prison without due process is a concentration camp.

“From The Depths,” William Balfour Ker

Immigration raids are worrying Southern California’s undocumented gardeners, the workers so prevalent in suburban neighborhoods that the sound of weed whackers and leaf blowers can feel like ambient noise. By @jmarantosplants.bsky.social www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

How neighbors got goats to clear a fire-prone hill up ‘absolutely bonkers’ roads www.latimes.com/lifestyle/ne... via @jmarantosplants.bsky.social

Great pictures of the first soil being laid on the world's largest wildlife crossing, over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills. @jmarantosplants.bsky.social explains what comes next: www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

My February LA Times Plants newsletter. www.latimes.com/lifestyle/ne...

Why are some L.A.-area water providers telling customers not to use their water? Good explanation of the contamination risks post-fire, and what state regulations require: www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st... via @jmarantosplants.bsky.social

California has sweeping new rules for home insurance. This is what you need to know. www.latimes.com/business/sto...

‘A necessary evil': An in-depth look at the hundreds of full-time donor dogs and cats kept in closed colonies in California whose blood is used to save the lives of pets www.latimes.com/california/s...

Here’s a 3-fer plant for the garden: African blue basil provides beautiful flowers for bouquets, delicious basil for my sauces and happiness to SoCal honey bees, even in December!

Five years after workers first took Disneyland to court for allegedly skirting an Anaheim minimum wage law, resort owner Walt Disney Co. has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for $233 million.

Low-income, Latino desert dwellers sick of inhaling harmful dust from the Salton Sea's drying lakebed want to see state officials turn a shoreline park into a truly vibrant green space: www.latimes.com/california/s... via @rebeccaplevin.bsky.social

Three years after a raw sewage spill, residents living near L.A.’s Hyperion wastewater plant say they are still dealing with foul odors and health issues.

Tech executives are opening up their wallets as Trump and Republicans look at reshaping policies that impact social media, electric vehicles, artificial intelligence and more.

Luigi Mangione, the 26-year-old charged with murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, struggled with spondylolisthesis before receiving surgery. What is the condition?

Meanwhile, efforts to secure a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the L.A. area's most famous mountain lion, the late P-22, have thus far fallen short: www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st... via @jmarantosplants.bsky.social

Wasn’t sure I ever needed a collaboration between Coldplay, Spike Jonze, and Dick Van Dyke until I stumbled upon it and my heart nearly burst. Enjoy. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4Ol...

Just another 66-degree December day in Ventura…. and me , counting my blessings that I get to live here.

A tsunami warning for a large swath of the Northern California coast was canceled following a magnitude 7 earthquake off the coast of Humboldt County on Thursday. The warning was in effect for roughly an hour, prompting officials in some areas to order evacuations along the coastline.

for those of you on bluesky who are unfamiliar, our new series "between a rock" shares survival stories from the wild west. this month's is about a pair of hikers in yosemite who thought they were going for a quick stroll around the lake. then the weather changed www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

There's an AI-powered massage robot in L.A. now, because of course there is. (For the record, it was in New York first.) 🤖

The young star cluster NGC 602, by JWST. There is such beauty in the Universe.

So much to savor in this story by @corinnepurtill.bsky.social: The voice, the pacing, the humor, the image of hands stained green. Also the repetition of the process: the concoction turns black as it steeps in the sun, and then they haul the jug down from the roof. www.latimes.com/food/story/2...

Likely my last tomato harvest for 2024, and some have barely turned color but not a bad haul for Dec. 4. Now I can make sauce for my lasagna!

Sunset at Joshua Tree National Park. The silhouette of a Joshua Tree is unmistakable and I love the smaller desert plants too. #ArtAdventCalendar

California's gray wolf comeback continues. There are now nine confirmed packs in the Golden State — up from one just four years ago, @lilaseidman.bsky.social reports for @latimes.com: www.latimes.com/environment/...

Newly revealed documents show that plastics companies are paying influencers, including Dennis Quaid, to convince unsuspecting social media users and TV viewers that because their products are totally recyclable, we've got nothing to worry about: www.nytimes.com/2024/11/27/c...

The Mountain fire torched his nursery and avocados, but it didn’t kill his irises or spirit

"It's an illness that they know the cows have, and many cows have died but the boss cared about the cows, not the workers," Ibanez told the Times. "They never told them they have to go to the doctor to get a check-up." www.latimes.com/environment/...

For Los Angeles architecture, it’s been a surprisingly good year. The region’s best projects are as clear and practical as they are creative and striking.

I’d like to thank the New Yorker Radio Hour, and indirectly, Nancy Mace, for introducing me to Sarah McBride, the new congresswoman from Delaware whose graciousness, intelligence, compassion and election is the most hopeful sign I’ve seen in ages. www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/tny...

Full Moon Over Bryce Canyon National Park 🇺🇲

I’m going to start posting one waxcap a day because, folks, I have a LOT of them! They are my fav and I can’t pass by one without taking its photo. First one. #fungifriends #fungisky #forestfloor #mycology #fungi #naturephotography

I’m slowly converting my yard to mostly California native plants, fruit trees and veggies, but this sentimental gardener will always have at least a few roses, still fragrant and blooming in late November

The report found the costs of extreme weather events have escalated over the last decade. The U.S. had the largest economic losses over the 10-year period, at $935 billion, followed by China at $268 billion and India at $112 billion. www.theguardian.com/business/202... @theguardian.com

California has built so much solar power it increasingly goes to waste. This is raising customer electric rates – already twice the nation’s average. The winners: Arizona and other states, which California pays to take the excess. Also reaping profits: Wall Street traders.

"This study confirmed that small areas of urban wildflowers have a high concentration of pollinating insects, and are as valuable to many pollinators as larger areas of natural meadow that you would typically find rurally." #WildflowerWednesday #nativeplants #pollinators 🌱

Compiled some crazy images of the storm off the West Coast. www.latimes.com/california/s...

Looking for a family activity? We've put together a guide of 72 things to do with children in and around Los Angeles — memorable activities to fit every age, interest, energy level and attention span (and for grownups, every budget).

I'm going to post this video every day so we never forget

Disgraceful, gutless decision by the NHL. www.outsports.com/2023/10/9/23...

Fragrant pitcher sage (Lepechinia fragrans) is a California native plant that never fails to delight. Here it is blooming a week before Thanksgiving! And even without its flowers, the leaves are so aromatic all I need do is brush by them for my daily fragrance fix.

The Los Angeles Flower District around Wall and 8th streets in DTLA is a gritty life noir on the outside but the flowers inside the markets can brighten and inspire the bleakest day, and admission is only $2! Details here www.latimes.com/lifestyle/st...

The #MountainFire hit #GreenwoodDaylilyNursery in Somis hard, melting plastic pots off plants and charring equipment and structures, but most of its irises and other SoCal-sturdy perennials survived — just in time for optimal planting! Details in my LA Times Plants newsletter Dec. 1.

Your cool black kitchenware could be slowly poisoning you, study says. Here’s what to do

In mid-November my Southern California garden is still full of surprises….tomatoes, watermelon cucumbers, zucchini …. and a dead gopher? I was plagued by gophers this fall but here is some kind of rodent dead on a pile of gopher-churned earth. But do gophers have such long tails?

"Time passes. Things happen. Ice ages, cave paintings, nation-states, Bach." Beautiful piece by @corinnepurtill.bsky.social. Each word carefully chosen, like the meticulous work of paleontologists brushing and cataloguing fossils. This story begs to be read out loud. www.latimes.com/science/stor...