In spring 2021, as I helped reopen a charter elementary school in East New York after months of COVID closures, a mother asked me, “Do I really have a choice?” Her son had just finished a year in a nearby public school with three different math teachers, no music, and no working toilets on his floor. A week earlier, the city sent her a list of “alternative enrollment options,” all of them charters.

Every summer, the U.S. Open brings the world’s best tennis players to Queens. For three weeks, New York City is the sport’s capital. Its biggest matches are played in Arthur Ashe Stadium, named for the tennis legend who broke barriers on and off the court. But in many of the neighborhoods Ashe cared most about — places where opportunities are limited and courts are scarce — tennis has not always been easy to access.

Dear Eric: My wife has three living adult kids from three different fathers – ages 22, 29 and 32. The 32-year-old has a husband and two kids of her own. I allowed all of them to live with us since they couldn’t get along on their own. Last year, my wife’s fourth adult child died […]

California Republicans have launched new legal action to block Governor Gavin Newsom’s redistricting ballot measure from appearing in the November election. On Monday, GOP state senator Tony Strickland and other Republican leaders filed an emergency petition with the California Supreme Court seeking to stop Proposition 50 from going before voters. Proposition 50 proposes pausing the […]

Thunderstorms prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to issue ground stops Monday afternoon at three major Southern California airports. The FAA said operations at Los Angeles International Airport are halted until 3:45 p.m., while flights at Long Beach Airport and John Wayne Airport in Orange County are paused until 4 p.m. It was not immediately clear […]

A big rig trailer caught fire early Monday morning, sparking a brush fire and causing a traffic nightmare on the 5 freeway in the San Fernando Valley. The incident was reported just before 5 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway just north of the 405 Freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. A […]

The influence of alcohol extends to almost every part of society — and yet it causes more death and disease than any illegal drug.

Dear Eric: Our next-door neighbor is a longtime university professor who is well known in his field. We have been neighbors for many years, and we all get along well. He lives alone. An irritating habit of his is to stop by and launch into long-winded stories about some mundane event in his present or […]

An 11-year-old Oklahoma girl’s mother and stepfather are jailed on felony neglect charges after she gave birth at home with no medical or prenatal care, prosecutors said Sunday.

To the people in Harlem who’ve been sickened or lost loved ones to Legionnaires’ disease: my heart is with you. With six deaths and more than 100 cases to date, this outbreak was preventable. While the priority right now must be to stop it before more lives are lost, it is critical for city and state officials to also focus on what policies should be put in place that are proactive and preventative.