The Times: Daily news from the L.A. Times

The Black Panther Party, a Black power political organization, was founded exactly 55 years ago in California’s Bay Area and grew into a nationwide group that pushed for housing, food equity, education and self-protection. Several famous figures emerged from the group, including Eldridge Cleaver, Angela Davis and Huey P. Newton.

But history often overlooks those who do not serve in dynamic roles or who perform tasks away from public view. These people do the thankless but crucial work that keeps organizations running. Barbara Easley-Cox was one of these people.

Today, Easley-Cox recounts what she experienced as a Black Panther, from California to Algeria to North Korea and beyond.

More reading:

Decades before Black Lives Matter, there were the Black Panthers in Oakland

Opinion: 1969 SWAT raid on Black Panthers set the tone for police race problems

Bobby Seale, Eldridge Cleaver tell Cal State Fullerton audience about militancy, civil rights work

California requires each publicly traded company based in the Golden State to have at least one woman on its board of directors and, soon, at least one nonwhite or LGBTQ person. That’s because of a pair of laws mandating diversity at those high levels — laws that are having effects nationwide.

Today, we examine the topic with L.A. Times national reporter Evan Halper. We also talk with Dr. Maria Rivas, who has served on several boards and frequently found herself the only woman or person of color there.

More reading:

California outlawed the all-white-male boardroom. That move is reshaping corporate America

Column: California’s controversial law requiring women on corporate boards is back in the crosshairs

Newsom signs law mandating more diversity in California corporate boardrooms

Wildfires across the American West this summer spewed out smoke full of particulates that darkened skies, created unnaturally beautiful sunsets and boosted health risks far and wide. This problem has been getting worse as the years go by. So how will we move forward?

Today, we convene our monthly Masters of Disasters panel — L.A. Times air quality reporter Tony Barboza, wildfire reporter Alex Wigglesworth and earthquake and COVID-19 reporter Ron Lin — to talk about what makes wildfire smoke special, how to protect yourself and what the future might be. We also discuss reasons to be optimistic. And no, we’re not apologizing for the corny jokes. You’re welcome.

More reading:

Wildfire smoke now causes up to half the fine-particle pollution in Western U.S., study finds

Wildfire smoke may carry ‘mind-bending’ amounts of fungi and bacteria, scientists say

As ‘diesel death zones’ spread, pollution regulators place new rules on warehouse industry

How to keep the air in your home clean when there’s wildfire smoke outside

It’s been about a week since a big oil spill hit the Southern California shoreline near Orange County. Tar sullied sensitive wetlands. Birds and fish died. Miles of beaches were closed. The L.A. Times newsroom has produced dozens of stories trying to understand what happened, and what we’ve found so far isn’t pretty: aging offshore oil platforms and pipelines — being bought up by companies that have a history of safety violations.

Today, we speak to L.A. Times investigative reporter Connor Sheets about the causes of the so-called Huntington Beach oil spill. And an environmental activist — Center for Biological Diversity oceans program director Miyoko Sakashita — describes what she found when visiting Southern California’s offshore drilling platforms in 2018.

More reading:

Full coverage: the Huntington Beach oil spill

California attorney general launches investigation into Orange County oil spill

Federal regulation of oil platforms was dogged by problems long before O.C. spill

How much would it cost to shut down an offshore oil well? Who pays?

Nearly a century ago, government officials pushed a Black family from their beachfront property in the Southern California city of Manhattan Beach. Now, in what could be a landmark in this nation’s efforts to correct past injustices to African Americans, the land is being returned to the family’s descendants.

Today, we have an update to our June episode about the fight over Bruce’s Beach. And we hear from the historians, family members and grass-roots organizers who championed this cause for years until it could not be ignored. We also speak with L.A. Times environmental reporter Rosanna Xia about her work, which amplified the story of Bruce’s Beach to the world.

More reading:

Newsom signs bill to return Bruce’s Beach to Black family

Op-Ed: Bruce’s Beach will be returned to my family. I hope our fight will help others

Editorial: Beyond Bruce’s Beach is the tarnished American dream for Black Americans

Manhattan Beach was once home to Black beachgoers, but the city ran them out. Now it faces a reckoning