LOS ANGELES

RantZ and RaveZ - While Mayor Eric Michael Garcetti waits for confirmation by Elected Representatives in Washington, D.C., to the distinguished position of United States Ambassador to India, his record as Mayor and 8 year leader of the City of Los Angeles can be described by some as an embarrassment to his Legacy as the 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles.

THE VIEW FROM HERE - Because early news reports always have errors, one should not accept early news reports at face value.

THE DOCTOR IS IN - I very much prefer the company of children to that of adults, because only children act their age. 

HOUSING WATCH - For as long as California has been a state, local governments have decided where housing will and won’t go and how much to allow. 

LAKEWOOD STAKEHOLDERS - When Joan Didion passed away on December 23 of last year at the age of 87, Governor Gavin Newsom praised her as “easily the best living writer in California.”

PLANNING WATCH - In last week’s Planning Watch column, I pointed out that LA’s underwhelming urban forest is a key indicator that the city’s planning glass is mostly empty.

NEIGHBORHOOD POLITICS - The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday called for the state to pass legislation requiring a minimum of five years of ownership before a homeowner can invoke the Ellis Act to evict tenants and take the property off the rental market.

HOUSING WATCH - New laws that took effect on January 1 end single-family home zoning in California.

PLANNING WATCH -  Public opinion polls consistently report that Angelinos consider the homeless crisis to be the city’s most pressing problem.

COVID WATCH - Unauthorized pop-up testing sites have been reported in northeast Los Angeles, along the Wilshire corridor and across LA County. 

EDUCATION COMMENTARY - If “zoom schooling” has taught us anything, it’s that we’re locked in and our kids are learning things that shock us.

PLANNING WATCH - From the Dog Bites Man Department:  The recently adopted Los Angeles 2021-2029 Housing Element met its first legal challenge, with the likelihood of more to come.