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.

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?

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.

Sprinkled in the deluge of negatives letters are uplifting tales of gratitude, humanity and service. This is a selection of those letters.

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.

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?

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.

In one article, wealthy private schools get government aid. In another, desperate citizens beg for funds online.

The language of the 2nd Amendment suggests that the Constitution's framers did not want to empower rifle-wielding protesters to invade statehouses.

Letter writers who criticize the president are brushing off accusations from Trump's defenders that they suffer from some kind of insanity.

Makeup designer Nicki Ledermann took the concept of the Joker's look from Joaquin Phoenix and Todd Phillips and then made it say everything.

Costume designer Arianne Phillips and Quentin Tarantino had a no tie-dye mindset going into the late-'60s-set film 'Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.'

If an international film, like 'Parasite,' wins best picture, it only seems fair that a different film, like 'Pain and Glory,' gets the international Oscar.

Though Pedro Almodóvar's 'Pain and Glory' is semi-autobiographical, its themes of reconciliation and forgiveness are universal, says Antonio Banderas.

Taika Waititi's irreverent but humanist look at a boy in the Hitler Youth has been a major presence this awards season — for good and bad.

Reasons for cutting scenes from a movie vary. Here's why 'Little Women,' 'Jojo Rabbit,' 'Parasite' and others didn't keep everything they shot.

The Envelope likes to judge a film's chances of winning the best picture Oscar by seeing whether it echoes any previous winners, and these do. Sort of.

Cinematographers Rodrigo Prieto and Lawrence Sher compare notes on their films, 'The Irishman' and 'Joker.'

Find out if your favorite film, TV show or commercial won at the 22nd CDGAs, which were hosted by Mindy Kaling. Also honored were Charlize Theron, Adam McKay, Michael Kaplan and Mary Ellen Fields.

Appearing on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," Grammys host Alicia Keys detailed the backstage frenzy that preceded her poignant tribute to Kobe Bryant.

Brad Pitt has made many speeches this awards season. Without notes or a list of names to thank, his speeches have been sweet, sincere and funny.

Casting himself as being a sinner on borrowed time, 'Two Popes' actor Anthony Hopkins has one rule for life: Be kind.

'Jojo Rabbit' costume designer Mayes C. Rubeo made her mark with Mel Gibson's 'Apocalypto.' For Taika Waititi, she turned to history and art for inspiration.

Thelma Schoonmaker began working with Martin Scorsese in 1967. Over the years, she says, it has become more of a collaboration.

The 'Ford v Ferrari' sound teams recorded 28 tracks' worth of period accurate Ferrari and Ford GT40 engines to add to the mix.

The Oscar-nominated animation shorts often share emotional themes, but they are a creatively diverse collection.

The five Oscar-nominated live-action shorts of 2020: 'Brotherhood,' 'Saria,' 'Nefta Football Club,' 'My Neighbors' Window,' 'A Sister.'

The Academy Awards are fast approaching and Oscar pools are being organized. Let our film critics Kenneth Turan and Justin Chang help you analyze the major categories with their predictions.

The success of Greta Gerwig's "Little Women" has been a boon for Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott lived.

Oscar voting is ending and a few motion picture academy members are ready to share their picks.

"The Irishman," "1917," "The Lion King," "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker," "Avengers: Endgame" — a rundown of the visual-effects Oscar finalists.