Steve Lopez

Columnist

Steve Lopez is a California native who has been a Los Angeles Times columnist since 2001. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards and is a four-time Pulitzer finalist. Lopez is the author most recently of “Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement, From Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will.” His book “The Soloist,” inspired by his columns on his relationship with a Juilliard-trained homeless person, was a Los Angeles Times and New York Times best-seller, winner of the PEN USA Literary Award for Non-Fiction, and the subject of a Dream Works movie by the same name. He has also written three novels and two column collections.

Latest From This Author

California

Column: It’s the season for scams, so here’s a piece of advice: Never do business with strangers

Fraud is a year-round, multibillion-dollar enterprise, but the holiday season offers a wide-open window of opportunity as scammers fish with email, phone calls, texts, fliers and regular mail
Nov. 23, 2024
California

Column: Can MacArthur Park be saved? A look to the past points the way forward

What’s happened to MacArthur Park is heartbreaking. A 2003 effort emphasizing community collaboration may offer a blueprint for a permanent fix in a neighborhood burdened by gang activity and a fentanyl crisis.
Nov. 9, 2024
California

Column: Trump return could be a growing California nightmare. But leave the U.S.? No need

After Trump’s election win, the columnist writes, his first thought was to leave the country: ‘But then I realized I already have. I live in California.’
Nov. 6, 2024
California

Column: Harris or Trump? The outcome could be in the hands of voters 65 and older

Older Americans could well determine the outcome between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Nov. 1, 2024
California

Surrounded by violence, drug dealing and overdoses, workers at this L.A. restaurant struggle to hang on

In one sense, the Yoshinoya Japanese Kitchen across the street from MacArthur Park couldn’t be in a better location.
Oct. 26, 2024
California

He crashed the Iron Curtain, lived his dream, and even in hard times, it was ‘a beautiful struggle’

Steve Hideg was nearly broke when I met him in 2017, and wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep covering rent. But I’d never encountered a more upbeat guy.
Oct. 24, 2024
California

What are the answers to MacArthur Park crisis, and can Councilmember Hernandez lead the way?

‘I feel possibility and I feel anger’: Does Councilmember Hernandez have the answers to MacArthur Park’s humanitarian crisis?
Oct. 19, 2024
California

At LAFD Station 11, one of the busiest in the nation, far more overdose emergencies than structure fires

At Fire Station 11 near MacArthur Park, the crew must navigate a nightmare of drug overdoses, misery — and, sometimes, a structure fire
Oct. 12, 2024
California

Column: A driving test for license renewal? Responses range from absolutely to ‘Leave us seniors alone!’

Behind-the-wheel driving test for seniors: ‘Don’t you dare advocate for this!’ or ‘There are folks that should not be driving’
Oct. 5, 2024
California

Column: DMV dumps license renewal tests for most drivers 70 and older — finally

After months of complaints, the DMV has dumped the knowledge test and online training course for most drivers 70 and older who are renewing their licenses.
Sept. 30, 2024