LOS ANGELES

ALPERN AT LARGE--For anyone trying to buy a home, or who has given up trying to buy a home, it's not hard to conclude that affordable housing is a crisis that's miserable and virtually inescapable.

GELFAND’S WORLD--It's a curious observation that among the American right wing, there is a juxtaposition between financial and sexual conservatism.

BELL VIEW-A recent NPR poll showed that 54% of Republicans believe Brett Kavanaugh should be seated on the Supreme Court even if he did things he’s accused of doing.

FIRST PERSON-The most compelling, yet ignored argument supporting the claim that Supreme Court candidate Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted Christine Blasey Ford and other women is that these actions are consistent with his uncontested male chauvinist upbringing and consequent development of his legal opposition against women's birth control. 

CAL MATTERS--In one of the first legal challenges since the #MeToo movement forced the California Legislature to confront its history of dismissing sexual misconduct in its own workplace, the Senate is trying to fend off a former employee’s lawsuit with arguments that she’s not covered by new whistleblower protections and that the Capitol, as part of the public sector, isn’t covered by state labor laws.

AT LENGTH-Nothing gets done these days unless you have a study or a report.

ALPERN AT LARGE--We're really in a fix, aren't we?

GUEST COMMENTARY--Fascinating as a David and Goliath struggle in itself - the multi-year effort to restore the South-Central Farm at 41st/Alameda in South Central Los Angeles also highlights significant development issues that could apply to all of LA.

ONE BILLION RISING--I hear a woman screaming in the night. Do you?

DEEGAN ON LA-Neighborhood watch committees, homeowner associations, neighborhood councils and other groups that closely monitor what’s happening in their communities could soon be adding “safe injection sites” to their concerns – concerns that already include what some see as predatory developers, the specter of “bridge housing” for the homeless, the clash between preservation and “transit oriented density,” and electric scooters as community disruptors.

FIRST PERSON-Corporations and their foundations have arrived at a point in this country where they have final say over virtually all the content of commercial and non-commercial media.

CONNECTING CALIFORNIA--The American military may be the finest fighting force in the history of the world. But how long can it defend Camp Pendleton?

EIGHT MOST READ - GELFAND’S WORLD--The 2018 neighborhood council congress has come and gone, an event in which we were treated to views that were outrageous, insightful, carefully thought out, and sometimes all of the above.

GUEST COMMENTARY-At the Congress of Neighborhoods on Saturday, September 22, 2018, there was a cannabis session at which most of the focus was on what the rules are for retailers. Plenty of questions were asked. 

HOUSING POLITICS-Zoning used to be a total snooze. Arguments about building heights and density were the eye-glazing preserve of planning wonks and people whose next-door neighbors were contemplating two-story additions. In 2018, zoning got sexy. 

LEANING RIGHT--Proponents of Proposition 10 are trying to convince voters that the effort to repeal the Costa Hawkins Housing Act would simply give local officials in Los Angeles County and other communities another tool to deal with California’s housing crisis. 

CORRUPTION WATCH-No one likes to admit to being mentally deficient. But denial is not the best response to a gross inadequacy. Nonetheless, it may be the most common response.

@THE GUSS REPORT-A bill of attainder is a law that unconstitutionally singles out an individual or group for punishment without a trial.

BELL VIEW--Republicans and their mouthpieces in the mainstream and fringe media have long sought to make the case that Republicans serve the interests of minority voters better than Democrats because they believe in the core dignity of all people -- without regard to color. 

FIRST PERSON-If you compare predominantly minority filled and long-failed Detroit public schools with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), there is only one glaring difference -- LAUSD has been run by a better bunch of liars than Detroit. 

CHOICES--In his opening statement at his confirmation hearing, "calculated liar, "evidently repeat perjurer and alleged sexual assaulter Brett Kavanaugh  cited his time at Bethesda’s Georgetown Prep high school in the 1980s with reverence.