USC's Celeste Fremon and Board of Supervisors special counsel Merrick Bobb examine Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton's response to the May Day violence. Bobb explores why California law is going to hamper rather than help Bratton in conducting an open investigation, while Fremon praises Bratton's pick for the Central Bureau:

"[Cmdr.] Sergio [Diaz] is extremely highly educated, well respected and has a command presence," Bratton said when I asked him Tuesday evening why he promoted Diaz to deputy chief. "But he isn't the first guy in the class to raise his hand just to draw attention to himself."

More to the point: "He has a very thoughtful and deliberative demeanor" and isn't prone "to making rash decisions." (In other words, he's not the type to send his troops chasing after reporters and immigrant mothers.)

Columnist Rosa Brooks harangues the U.S. for tolerating a terrorist who targets Cuba, while Joel Stein tolerates a Renaissance fair to catch two genuinely funny comedians there.

The editorial board notes the courage of teachers, parents, and the principal of Locke High School for taking steps to secede from the Los Angeles Unified School District. The board tentatively okays Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to privatize the lottery and suggests a new job for outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Letter writers are largely unhappy with Times car critic and columnist Dan Neil's tale on his wife's abortion. Patricia Turner of Long Beach points out, "He seems to regard the termination of his children's lives as the responsible thing to do, when perhaps the truly responsible thing to do would have been to decline fertility treatment in the first place."