Varied Views of a Border

In some spots along the Mexican-American border, a well-fortified fence extends as far as the eye can see, while in others a wall ends abruptly in the ocean. Beyond these images of the United States’ southern border, we are interested in your photos.

An aerial view of the border fence in Tijuana, Mexico, where it meets the Pacific Ocean.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

An aerial view of a Border Patrol vehicle along a section of the border wall south of Mission, Tex., near the Rio Grande. In this case engineers built the wall along an existing levee in the floodplain just north of the river.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

An aerial view of the Rio Grande, which snakes its way through the Rio Grande Valley. Many do not understand the difficulty of building fences or monitoring thick brushland along the river. It is also complicated to block American farmers from accessing the river, which irrigates crops in this agricultural region.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

The rusted old border wall separates Tijuana, Mexico, right, and a Border Patrol-controlled buffer zone, left. Once high volumes of drug trafficking in this impoverished area have diminished significantly.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

The Border Patrol installed an iron fence to keep drug smugglers from using their roads to move drugs. This is an area south of Mission, Tex., where the river is quite narrow and easy to cross or float drugs across.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

A border fence ends in the rugged terrain in East Tijuana. This photograph was taken in the mountains east of San Diego.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

Migrants hoping to arrive in California by boat are traveling more and more northward to elude border patrol. Torrey Pines State Beach (pictured) is more than 30 miles from the border but was once a popular location because of its proximity to the road.
Kirsten Luce for The New York Times.

A woman makes her way back to Mexico at the Nogales Port of Entry in Nogales, Ariz.
Joshua Lott for The New York Times.

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Kate Middleton 'Careful In Heels' at Weekend Wedding

By Simon Perry

03/02/2013 at 08:00 PM EST

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

Splash News Online

The Duchess of Cambridge arrived at a wedding in a different kind of carriage Saturday – a bus.

She and brother-in-law Prince Harry were spotted with a group of friends as they hopped off the coach for nuptials in the Swiss mountains.

They were there for the wedding of close friend and polo player Mark Tomlinson, who married Olympic equestrian Laura Bechtolsheimer in the town of Arosa.

Dressed in a pale coat accentuated with brown fur trim, a familiar James Lock hat and a Max Mara dress she's wore previously underneath, an expectant Kate was seen walking "gingerly up the steps to the church," an onlooker tells PEOPLE. "She was being very careful in her heels."

Her husband William – in traditional tailcoat – had previously arrived due to his role as an usher at the ceremony.

As guests arrived, police cordoned off an area so locals could catch a glimpse. "There was a big crowd there, and the police closed the street," the onlooker adds.

The couple are among 250 guests, including the royals' close friends James Meade and fiancée Laura Marsham, Guy Pelly and Olivia Hunt.

The Princes often spend summer afternoons playing polo with groom Tomlinson, who attended Marlborough College with Kate. The bride was part of the London 2012 Olympics team that also included William and Harry's cousin Zara Phillips.

The family made a weekend of the trip – while William and Harry hit the slopes on Friday, Kate, who's due in July, was spotted strolling with a sled in her hands rather than ski poles.

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Outside cash prominent in L.A. school board races

Outside spending is dominating campaigns for three seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, surpassing $4.4 million through Friday.

The outcome of Tuesday's primary is expected to shape the path of improvement efforts in the nation's second-largest school system.

The costliest race is in District 4, which spans the Westside and the western San Fernando Valley. There, one-term incumbent and former teacher Steve Zimmer faces parent and attorney Kate Anderson.

The pro-Anderson and anti-Zimmer effort has spent more than $1.1 million. Also, Anderson's campaign has raised more than $250,000.

Conversely, the pro-Zimmer and anti-Anderson independent campaign has spent more than $950,000. Zimmer's campaign has collected $82,406.

Zimmer benefits from an independent campaign by employee unions and the L.A. County Federation of Labor. Anderson is backed by a coalition of wealthy donors, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and advocates for independently managed charter schools.

The coalition is the biggest money player, having assembled more than $3.2 million.

Spending in the other two races reflects campaign strategies of the coalition and the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

In District 2, which stretches outward from downtown, the coalition supports two-term incumbent Monica Garcia. She is the mayor's closest ally on the school board and a steadfast supporter of L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy.

The coalition hopes to push Garcia to victory on Tuesday by helping her capture more than 50% of the vote in a field with four challengers. The coalition has spent the lion's share of a $1.2-million independent campaign; some unions also have chipped in with significant contributions. Garcia's campaign has raised nearly $430,000.

Garcia's challengers have raised a combined $46,000. The teachers union has divided a modest $18,000 among three of the challengers. Its goal is to force a runoff, and to that end, UTLA launched an anti-Garcia campaign at a cost of $90,000.

District 6, in the eastern San Fernando Valley, is an open seat. There, the coalition hopes to sweep Antonio Sanchez past two other candidates. Independent campaigns on his behalf — including support from some labor unions — have logged more than $1 million in expenditures. Sanchez's own campaign has reported donations of close to $55,000.

There are no independent campaigns on behalf of Monica Ratliff, who has raised about $15,000, or Maria Cano, who has raised about $17,000.

Hoping to preserve campaign resources, the teachers union has not helped fund a candidate in this contest, although it endorsed all three.

howard.blume@latimes.com

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