In the News
Don't Let Charter Industry Silence John Oliver … Calif Being ‘Scammed’ (Video)
OLIVER TARGETED BY PRIVATIZERS--What do an education historian and a late-night comedian have in common?
Shared opposition to the fraud and abuse associated with charter schools and other privatization efforts, of course.
Longtime educat…
Coming Attractions: New Digital Billboards on LA City Streets?
BILLBOARD WATCH-Will this digital billboard re-appear? In this location, or elsewhere? The photo is from 2010. But new digital billboards a…
City Hall Flashback: They’ve Always Been Cheats!
EASTSIDER-I’m looking at an old CityWatch Special Report from September 2006, which was published ahead of the November 2006 general electi…
Can You Believe It? Over Half a Million People Arrested In California for Marijuana In Last Decade
POT POLITICS--Although legalization of recreation marijuana did not pass in California in 2010, Robin Abcarian, with the LA Times writes t…
Between the World and John Deasy
EDUCATION POLITICS--Dear Professor Ta-Nehisi Coates (photo, right above): I am writing in response to an open letter that was recently addr…
‘Pretend’ Civic Engagement is Not Participation
NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS-On Saturday August 20, fifteen members of the Echo Park Neighborhood Council (EPNC) participated in a six-hour retrea…
Will LA End Up With Two Sinking, Tilting Luxury Housing Skyscrapers from Millennium Developer?
VOX POP--One of San Francisco’s most iconic luxury housing skyscrapers is sinking and tilting — and it was built by Millennium Partners, th…
‘When School Preempts Summertime’-- An Open Letter to LAUSD Board President Zimmer
TURNING UP THE HEAT-I’m agin’ it. Really, really against it. I oppose force-marching our school-aged children back inside any Institution o…
What to Do with the Lincoln Heights Jail … What about Housing the Homeless?
AT LENGTH-I was quite surprised to read the Los Angeles Times article about the city asking for ideas on reuse possibilities for the Lincol…
The Sham and the Shame of LA’s Small Lot Ordinance … Same Old Sausage
VOICE OF THE PEOPLE--For those who thought a new Department of City Planning (“DCP”) Director (“Director”) would mean a new direction for t…
Sherman Oaks Gives Tourists … and LA’s Curious … the Bird
THE GUSS REPORT-- Tourists in LA hoping to see famous faces sometimes take a not-always-truthful celebrity bus tour. Others troll land-lo…
Second-Dwelling-Unit Debate Arrives at LA City Hall
DENSITY BY DEFAULT-With debates raging over the regulation of short-term rentals in Los Angeles and the proponents of the Neighborhood Inte…
Save Valley Village: ‘Councilman Krekorian Only Represents Those Who Agree With Him’
THIS IS WHAT I KNOW--The rumble between pro-development interests and those who support neighborhood integrity takes a possible new turn wi…
Listen Up, Beverly Hills: Time to Stop Fighting Expansion of Purple Line to Westside
GUEST COMMENTARY--Beverly Hills has sent a clear message to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority about its proposed Purple Line subway…
LAUSD’s Misplaced Priorities: Students and Parents Need a Real Summer Break
ALPERN AT LARGE--I am what you would call a "hard-ass"--I work three jobs, do all sorts of unpaid civic endeavors, and live in a household…
LA’s Neighborhood Councils … Who, How and Why? The Debate Continues
GELFAND’S WORLD--A couple of weeks ago, I argued that the city is creating strife and turmoil which doesn't have to exist. In brief, the sy…
LA Supe Solis and Gov Walker: Odd Couple Gifting Billionaire Hedge Funder, Stiffing the Working Class
POLITICAL TONGUE IN CHEEK--Congratulations to LA County Supervisor Hilda Solis and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker for winning this year’s…
LA Politics: Mother to All Kinds of Crime and Corruption
CORRUPTION WATCH-The word “crime” is one of those terms which we use all the time without taking the time to think about it too deeply. Acc…
Become an Important City Hall Insider for Your Community … Here’s How
DEEGAN ON LA-What does it take to access the corridors of power in City Hall, establish a by-name relationship with key departments, be rec…
We Need an ‘Affordable’ Fix for Unaffordable LA
ALPERN AT LARGE--With skyrocketing utility rates, costs of health care, and an average rent of approximately $2000 per month, it's obvious…
