Cloth masks are not nearly as effective as N95 respirators and they give wearers a false sense of security against the coronavirus.

The state isn't doing right by undocumented immigrants with a financial relief program that does nothing to address abusive labor practices.

The study authors are reckless to say we need to "recalibrate" public health approaches because the actual COVID-19 mortality rate might be lower.

State preemption has been used against local governments on a number of issues; it would be a mistake for that to happen now amid coronavirus fears.

A 2006 law requiring the Postal Service to pre-fund future retirees' health benefits has accelerated the agency's financial decline.

A call to split the U.S. into separate republics based on our deep political divisions draws support from readers.

Our healthcare system has not been overwhelmed. It's time to return to normal for most people while taking measures to protect the vulnerable.

The spouses of immigrants need economic help too so they can stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's daily coronavirus news conferences may drag on, but he's hitting all the right notes with the public.

If you're a cancer patient, you should not avoid treatment because of the pandemic. Surgery and follow-up care cannot wait.

Publishing photos of maskless tourists romping in poppy fields does not help the cause of social distancing.

A high school student who grew up knowing the threat posed by climate change asks for everyone to remember how the environment seemed to heal in April 2020.

Healthcare providers undergo a complicated process to make sure their N95 masks are doing their job. Members of the public may have a false sense of security.

Calendar Feedback: Is competence sexy? Readers on whether it trivializes Dr. Fauci to call him 'sexy.' Plus, differing opinions on the Peter Zumthor design of LACMA.

If most beaches in Southern California are closed, so should those in Orange County, which attracted thousands of people on a hot weekend.

The Los Angeles County district attorney says work was already underway on reducing L.A.'s jail population before a zero-bail order was issued.

It's too dangerous to have Trump remain president for another eight months during a pandemic. Let Mike Pence take over.

An Inglewood teacher distributes food to families before doing hours of instruction work online. She deserves praise and help.

Not everything has to go back to normal after the pandemic, including L.A. traffic. More businesses need to make working from home permanent.

A resident of Sedona, Ariz., did not appreciate an L.A. Times story on wealthy out-of-towners fleeing to their second homes.

Tech companies make money from our information. Why would their development of COVID tracking apps be any different?

If there are still crowded flights and TSA agents are not required to wear masks, how will we ever be able to return to normal?

A patient who had server abdominal pain has a warning: If you think you need to do so, go to the ER, even with a pandemic raging.

The COVID-19 pandemic is a full-blown disaster, but if shortages mean Americans eat less meat as a result, then so be it.

The author of the Americans With Disabilities Act warns that coronavirus treatment that takes disability and age into account is immoral and illegal.

Someone wearing gloves and an N95 mask likely had a stockpile at home before the pandemic hit.

Calls to open all beaches because Californians have a right to them are silly and dangerous. Gov. Newsom is making the right call.

We don't know enough about the coronavirus to experiment with deliberately infecting volunteers with COVID-19.

Just like in Sedona, people have been fleeing to Palm Springs to ride out the pandemic. It happens in every small resort town favored by rich people.

There's no evidence that the use of plastic bags prevents exposure to the coronavirus, so why use them instead of reusable bags?

Coronavirus: Los Angeles is doing better than New York, but much worse than San Francisco. Our experience with COVID-19 is not an argument for sprawl.

Republicans didn't seem to care that Trump had multiple credible allegations against him; why should one accusation against Biden derail his candidacy?

A professor's suggestion for college student to take time off and turn out the vote is nice, but why not help them with the loan debt first?

Readers weigh in on a cellist's front-porch concerts and TV ads in coronavirus time, pop-up bookstores vs. bookmobiles; renegade designs for anew LACMA and more.

"right to literacy": children learn to read mostly at home

Democrats who expect all voters sick of President Trump to vote for Joe Biden are insulting people who care more about the issues than the party.

It's simply wrong when a much younger person dies. Let younger patients take the ventilator if there's a scarcity -- and let doctors make the decision.

Californians feel hopeless, so some are protesting. The solution is to limit access to public spaces without completely closing them.

Professors don't want us living in single-family homes, the only option for average people to own something all their own.

The people waving the American flag at lockdown protests are using it as a symbol of selfishness.

COVID-19 lockdowns are inflicting too much economic pain and misery. We need to do more cost-benefit analyses.

The Brown Act doesn't give officials any excuse they want to shut out the public from their meetings.

We're comparing the number of Americans to have died from COVID-19 to war casualties. Why not consider AIDS?

The fact that Trump refuses to wear a mask, a precaution meant to protect other people, is evidence of his lack of empathy.

You can't explain away your support for Joe Biden despite a sexual assault allegation without talking about Brett Kavanaugh.

A second-generation surivivor whose grandparents died in the Holocaust blasts a newspaper publisher for comparing coronavirus restrictions to Nazi Germany.

Sweden's death rate is high compared with those of its neighbors, who took much more drastic and appropriate action against the pandemic.

An anti-war student in Ohio at the time of the Kent State massacre explains why the protests were led largely by well-off whites.

Why the argument that we should reopen the economy because we don't shut it down over the thousands of car deaths every year is wrong.

The president brooks no criticism and disregards inconvenient facts, much like the Chinese government he opposes.