CityWatch

IT'S CHINATOWN AGAIN, JAKE

Got Water? You Can Make Millions in California

Sarah Goodyear.

July 21, 2014

WATER WOES FOR PROFIT-“Water is set to become the most valuable resource on earth, even more precious than oil,” writes Ophélie Mortier, the responsible investment coordinator at the Belgian finance firm Petercam. “Corporations should adapt to this reality and integrate it into their daily operations. But luckily, this also opens up investment opportunities.” Mortier’s blog post on the subject, illustrated with a grim map that shows how much of the globe is projected to be hurting for water in 2025, went up just a few days ago. In drought-stricken California, some people are already finding ways to cash in on the water shortage there. According to the Associated Press, a couple of lucky water districts with excess supply, as well as some private landowners, are making big bucks by auctioning excess water rights to the highest bidder this year. The AP’s Garance Burke writes: Read More...

America: Down But Not Out

Joel Kotkin

Jul 21, 2014

WHO WE ARE-America, seen either from here or from abroad, doesn’t look so good these days. The country that maintained world peace for decades now “leads by behind,” or not at all. You don’t have to have nostalgia for George W. Bush’s foreign policy to wish for someone in the White House who at least belongs in the same room with the likes of Vladimir Putin. Some wags now suggest that President Barack Obama has exceeded Jimmy Carter in foreign policy incompetence – Carter certainly was more effective in the Middle East. Read More...

The Other Side of Immigration

Rosemary Jenkins

Jul 21, 2014

JUST SAYIN’-Many of our fellow Americans have for years been protesting the influx of undocumented immigrants and are vociferously demonstrating against the thousands of young ones who have recently crossed the border. But for all those from abroad who are patiently waiting to enter the country legally, where have been the enthusiastic pronouncements on their behalf? Hundreds of thousands (even millions) have waited 5-10-20 years or more to immigrate (by the book) and are now here. A goodly number of documented immigrants already have family here with whom to reunite, but that fact provides little comfort or certainty for them. Their futures are confusing, unclear, and often filled with anxiety. Read More...

Pensions for Dummies

Jack Humphreville

Jul 21, 2014

LA WATCHDOG-The 18% investment gains reported by the California Public Employees Retirement System (“CalPERS”) for the year end June 30, 2014 bodes well for the City’s two seriously underfunded pension plans and its projected budget deficit. But one year of fat returns on its pension plans does not even begin to solve the City’s financial mess as our City is burdened with a cumulative budget deficit of $425 million over the next three years and more than $30 billion of long term liabilities (unfunded pension liabilities; deferred maintenance on our streets, sidewalks, and the rest of our infrastructure; and long term debt). Read More...

Good vs. Evil: The Dangerous Republican Worldview

Odysseus Bostick

Jul 21, 2014

THE BOSTICK REPORT-Recent calls by Republicans for President Obama to “act stronger” and “exert US authority” overseas in response to escalating tensions and outright conflict are based on a simplistic, outdated worldview. Worse, these calls are rooted in the idea that every government, leader, or action is based on a faulty effort to identify conflict as being between altruistic ‘good’ actions in response to selfish ‘evil’ actions. It’s just not that simple and probably never was. Read More...

Putin the Sociopath

Paul Hatfield

Jul 21, 2014

PERSPECTIVE-It was not unusual for the most powerful or influential Russian czars to have a moniker: Catherine the Great, Peter the Great and Ivan the Terrible, to name a few. Following in this tradition, Russia now has Putin the Sociopath. Read More...

Confronting the Middle East: Every Nation Including the U.S. Must Make a Choice

Ken Alpern

Jul 21, 2014

ALPERN AT LARGE-War is brewing. Conflict is brewing. Bloodshed is not only inevitable, but it is occurring right now. Yet while some will blame the warring sides in the Middle East, and others will blame the United States for its past interventions (or lack of interventions), it must be remembered that all nations and peoples are populated and governed by human beings. All foreign nations and peoples, it must always be remembered, are endowed with the ability to make choices--and it's time to choose. Read More...

Getting a Whiff of Reefer Madness

Bernard Parks

Jul 21, 2014

PARK’S PLACE-I don’t know about you but I’ve been getting a whiff of reefer madness in the air lately. As you may have heard, Washington state is the latest to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. I tell you, people get so excited when they can buy weed out in the open and not in some shady backstreet. In Seattle, the City Attorney bought some and even brought it to his job at City Hall. He’s since apologized. Can you imagine your elected officials coming through with a baggie of kush? Most of them are funny enough without the wacky tobacky, they don’t need any other excuse to impair their judgments. Read More...

Hobby Lobby Decision: Human Rights vs. Social Benefits

Bob Gelfand

Jul 21, 2014

GELFAND’S WORLD-Most of the people on my side of the fence think the Hobby Lobby decision was wrong, and possibly a disaster. There is no need to go into the legal details, as lots of other people have made the arguments quite adequately. Simply put, the decision ranks one human right, freedom of religion, above a social benefit, the chance to get medical insurance. Read More...

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What Whistleblower Kathleen Carroll Believes

What The New Populists Believe

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LA and SF: Dueling Transport Visions

James Poulos

Jul 21, 2014

DIFFERENCES-In San Francisco, a bus project over a decade in the making finally receives its massive environmental impact report. In Los Angeles, the… Read More...

Why Kashkari’s Failure to Understand Schwarzenegger is a Problem

Joe Mathews

Jul 21, 2014

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA-The problem wasn’t personality. But it’s not surprising that Neel Kashkari, pressed to explain why his plans to fix California… Read More...

Hubris of the Hoch-Tech

Sara Roos

Jul 21, 2014

MAKING POINTS-What is it with high tech entrepreneurs and the hubris of their bastardized version of noblesse oblige? First came Bill Gates with his… Read More...

Gold Rush: Silicon Valley Sees Nuggets in Corporate School Reforms

Bill Raden and Gary Cohn

Jul 21, 2014

EDUCATION POLITICS-When Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu struck down the tenure rights of the state’s public school teachers last month in… Read More...

Judge Calls Foul, Says No to City’s Attempt to End Run the Hollywood Community Plan

James O’Sullivan

Jul 17, 2014

THE CITY-On June 20, Fix The City, Save Hollywood, La Mirada, HELP and Attorneys for the City of Los Angeles once again stepped into Judge Allan… READ MORE...

LA’s Neighborhood Councils Flunk City Charter Responsibilities

Denyse Selesnick

Jul 17, 2014

NC WATCH-Someone, whose opinion I respect greatly- in discussion of my second favorite subject … Neighborhood Councils (NC)- said “I will bet you… READ MORE...

The Latest on LAX-Metro Connector: Progress, Consensus, Work to be Done

Ken Alpern

Jul 17, 2014

GETTING THERE FROM HERE-As mentioned in my last CityWatch piece, the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee met and heard from both LA World Airports… READ MORE...

Shortchanging California’s National Treasures

Jill Richardson

Jul 17, 2014

PLANET WATCH-Fabulous vacations don’t come cheap. Hotels often run at least $100 a night, if not higher. Add in airfare, a rental car, and restaurant… READ MORE...

NC Looking for Parking Lots for Homeless Sleepers

Aaron Blevins

Jul 21, 2014

HOLLYWOOD-The Hollywood United Neighborhood Council’s Public Safety and Transportation Committee on Monday discussed the possibility of identifying parking lots that homeless individuals could use to sleep in their cars. Erik Sanjurjo, (photo) who chairs the committee, said the council is simply… READ MORE...

Guest Editorial: LA Should Prioritize Citywide Sidewalk Repair

Los Angeles Register

Jul 21, 2014

CITYWIDE-Contrary to what Angelenos have grown accustomed to, deep fractures and deterioration are not typical characteristics of sidewalks. Sidewalks are actually supposed to be usable and walking on them should not result in injury. Yet, the city estimates that about 40 percent of its sidewalks… READ MORE...

Drought Buster Patrols Streets of LA

Dana Bartholomew

Jul 17, 2014

CITYWIDE-A day after state water regulators voted to get tougher on water restrictions, the Los Angeles water police Wednesday were out in force — with a full-time water cop of one. But until he gets three more water enforcement deputies next month, Rick Silva has the herculean task of patrolling… READ MORE...

Life on LA’s Streets is About to Change

Asher Klein

Jul 10, 2014

NEIGHBORHOODS LA-The City Council confirmed Seleta Reynolds as general manager of LA Department of Transportation. Reynolds said she wants to make Los Angeles streets safer by making traffic slower, better organized and therefore, more predictable. “We want them to (travel) at human speed so that… READ MORE...

Neighbors Helping Turn Melrose and Highland into Hot Corner

Aaron Blevins

Jun 26, 2014

PARK LABREA NEWS-The intersection of Highland and Melrose avenues is a hot, up-and-coming area of Los Angeles, but some sections of the sidewalks have literally been a downer for customers and business owners. Walking the sidewalks on Melrose Avenue near Highland was a balancing act before the… READ MORE...

On the Case of the Peacock Killers

Bill Johnson

Jun 23, 2014

PALOS VERDES-People can be jerks – absolutely selfish, unrelenting, brutish, thinking-only-of-themselves jerks. I would rant a little more, but you get the idea. It is why I drove the other day to Buckskin Lane in Rolling Hills Estates to see for myself why anyone would kill Indian peafowl – some… READ MORE...

Court House Closed for Business … Trek to Court Now Longer

James Preston Allen

Jun 19, 2014

SAN PEDRO-Tino, the Cambodian-Texan bar owner of Crimsin, stood across the street as the state maintenance workers unbolted the letters which once read, “San Pedro Superior Court.” It was just two Latino guys with a ladder and some tools. By the time we noticed what was occurring, the letters were… READ MORE...

Can North Fig Rise Again?

Bill Johnson

Jun 19, 2014

HIGHLAND PARK-Mayor Eric Garcetti a few weeks back designated 15 L.A. “Great Streets.” I so want to believe this is a good thing. Under the Great Streets program, one street in each of the City Council’s 15 districts has been singled out. And the mayor has found about $800,000 to make improvements… READ MORE...

FeedWind

The GOP Lust for Latinos Picks Up Steam

Tony Castro

Jul 21, 2014

POLITICS-Ronald Reagan once said that Latinos were Republicans. They just didn’t know it yet. Never before has the GOP hoped those words were truer… READ MORE...

The Assassination of George McKenna

Betty Pleasant

Jul 21, 2014

VOICES-THIS IS IT! --- For the past seven months, the people of Los Angeles County have been engaged in a great war against the politicians we… READ MORE...

Why Are Teachers Unions So Opposed to Change?

Antonio Villaraigosa

Jul 21, 2014

VOICES-President John F. Kennedy said, "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."… READ MORE...

The City Charter and Voters Are Clear About LAXPD Autonomy — So Let’s Move On

Marshall McClain

Jul 21, 2014

VOICES-Throughout its history, the Los Angeles Airport Police Department has faced repeated attempts by the LAPD to take over airport law enforcement… READ MORE...

TPM: NYC let’s developer build apartment complex with ‘poor door’

LA CURBED: Frank Gehry will design campus for at-risk children in Watts

LA PROGRESSIVE: LAPD vs Homeless in Venice

HULLABALOO: US Congressman says border kids coming for $$

CROOKS AND LIARS: Rush … ‘Media used plane tragedy to protect Obama’

HUFF POST: Revealed … How Boehner plans to take down Obama

LABOR LOU: Venice beachfront looks like refugee camp now

The Draper Dream Would be Our Nightmare

Richard Rubin

Jul 17, 2014

DIVIDING CALIFORNIA-California has launched more than a few inventions considered utopian that were eventually adopted throughout the nation. Some of… READ MORE...

The Immigration Debate Brings Out the Best and Worst in Us

Rosemary Jenkins

Jul 17, 2014

JUST SAYIN’-I pride myself in continuing my studies on a broad range of subjects, but am always surprised or even astounded when I come across a fact… READ MORE...

With More Than 4,000 Miles of Broken Sidewalks, How Can LA Ever Claim to be Pedestrian Friendly?

Jack Humphreville

Jul 17, 2014

LA WATCHDOG-Without a long term plan, how can the City of Los Angeles claim that it wants to create a pedestrian friendly environment when over 40%… READ MORE...

Retro Politics: 50 Years Ago, Barry Goldwater and a Speech to Remember

Tony Quinn

Jul 17, 2014

POLITICS-Fifty years ago Wednesday, one of the least successful candidates ever to seek the presidency, Sen. Barry Goldwater, gave his acceptance… READ MORE...