To many white voters, race still matters
Rural Kentucky points up a difficult reality for Barack Obama

MUNFORDVILLE, Ky. — Mike Rife is white, a semiretired factory worker with a high school education and a 2-foot-square sign on his lawn that makes friends and neighbors flip him the finger as they drive by.

The sign reads: “Obama for President.”

“I think I almost know what it feels like to be a black guy,” said Rife, his voice gravelly and defiant. “I take heat every day. I got an Obama sticker on my car, and I catch hell for it.”

Munfordville is the seat of Hart County, a rural swath of Kentucky farmland. Its Democrats will vote, and vote hard, for Hillary Clinton in Tuesday’s primary. And if Barack Obama goes on to win the nomination, many of those Bluegrass State Democrats say they will vote against him quicker than you can say, “Race doesn’t matter. . .

Man accused of killing opossum files wrongful arrest claim

ANAHEIM – You may remember the recent news story: Lorenzo Oliver and his 12-year-old son were accused opossum killers.

Police arrested the pair after a neighbor said he saw Oliver’s son beat a mother opossum and her five babies in the early morning hours of March 10. The mother opossum was found with a dead baby. News crews broadcasted the story.

The story, though, didn’t hold muster. A week later, city prosecutors announced they declined to charge Oliver with accessory to animal cruelty because there wasn’t enough evidence. His son, an honor student, also wasn’t charged. . .

Some services win, others lose as city budget approved

The Los Angeles City Council approved a $7 billion budget Monday that restores funding for libraries, sidewalk repair and other favored community services but still cuts hundreds of city jobs and raises fees for parking and trash pickup.

Approval comes after a month in which the council analyzed city spending amid housing and economic downturns that have sapped L.A.’s revenue while expenses – including employee wages, health-care costs and an expanded police force – have increased.

Faced with closing a record $400 million budget shortfall, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the City Council have largely filled the gap by cutting jobs, relying on one-time revenue and raising Angelenos’ trash fee by $8 – to $36 a month. . .