EASTSIDER-I’ve been through this scene twice, and our current protests/looting seem like a bad dope dream where nothing ever changes. This time it must. 

GUEST WORDS--We live in an Orwellian era, in which working-class people pilfering convenience store goods is called “looting.” Rich people stealing hundreds of billions of dollars, on the other hand, is just well-functioning “public policy.” 

LA WATCHDOG-According to the Los Angeles Times, “Mayor Eric Garcetti pledged that the city would ‘identify $250 million in cuts so we can invest in jobs, in health, in education, and in healing,’ especially in the city’s black community ‘as well as communities of color and women and people who have been left behind.’” 

PLANNING WATCH-The Los Angeles Department of City Planning prominently placed two self-congratulatory awards on its web site. Other than promoting eye-rolling and head scratching, what else is going on? 

POLITICS NEIGHBORHOOD-The Bureau of Street Services (BSS) is the department responsible for 23,000 lane miles and 800 miles of alleys that link homes and businesses in Los Angeles.

RANTZ & RAVEZ-It all started as another case of police abuse against an African American caught on video.

ALPERN AT LARGE--Taking a knee is usually a sign of respect ... but it can also be a sign of submission.

TALE OF TWO AMERICA’S--As protests and riots spread like wildfire across the nation in response to the death of George Floyd and other black people at the hands of white police officers, I cannot help but recall an old African Proverb:

OTHERWORDS--The grocery store across from my old house in La Mesa, California (just outside of San Diego) has been vandalized and looted. Two nearby banks were burned to the ground.

GUEST COMMENTARY--What happened in Minneapolis was criminal. What is happening in Los Angeles is just as criminal. 

ANIMAL RIGHTS-In April, CityWatch reported that the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture issued draft guidelines declaring that dogs are pets, not to be eaten. See “Chinese May Declare Dogs Are Pets and Not for Eating – Let Them Know You Agree.”  

ONE MAN’S OPINION-America’s most predatory, racist institution is its judiciary.

PART OF A CONTINUING SERIES-Among other things, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) Board is charged with investing $18 billion to help ensure the retirement security of over 46,000 active and retired City employees.

WORLD WATCH-The murder of George Floyd by a police officer in broad daylight came amid a high point in the continuing rampage of the coronavirus throughout the country, killing over 100,000 and infecting nearly two million while more than 45 million have lost their jobs.

GELFAND’S WORLD--Curiously, the weekend’s rioting forces us to admit that there is validity in the conservative viewpoint.