Michael Hiltzik: Farewell to Mark Kleiman, one of America's great sages in public affairs

Looking back, there seem to be few issues of public debate on which Mark A.R. Kleiman didn't contribute his judicious, well-researched and often contrarian insights.

Nuclear power? Check. The housing bubble? Check. And of course criminal justice and drug policy, the fields in which he certainly was best known.

We say "looking back," because Kleiman passed away on June 22 of complications from a kidney transplant and cancer.

This appreciation therefore may be a bit late, but Kleiman's career demands thorough consideration. In the days since his passing, remembrances and appreciations have flowed in from colleagues and admirers among policy wonks, the institutions where he taught and fellow bloggers.

Memorials have come from UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, where Kleiman taught from 1996 to 2015, ultimately holding the post of emeritus professor of public policy.