LOS ANGELES

GELFAND’S WORLD - It was one of those half-hours when strangers are thrown together and begin to chat. After all the standard, polite commiseration about how complicated life had become, one fellow said, "I'm young and healthy. Do I really need to get vaccinated? Who will tell us the truth?" A woman in the same area seconded the "young and healthy" line with a similar level of skepticism about the vaccine.

COVID WATCH - The next time someone tries to tell you that implementing restrictive COVID-19 policies affecting the public is nearly impossible, point them to San Francisco. Or New York City. Or the State of California. Or even Pasadena,

RANTZ & RAVEZ-I have been writing RantZ & RaveZ for a number of years. My observations and comments reflect over 70 years of residency in the City of Los Angeles and neighboring communities.

Two farm workers died during a recent heatwave in Washington and Oregon. While this is outrageous, it’s not unusual. Farm workers die in hot weather every year.

LGBTQ NATION - Ed Buck, the gay white millionaire on trial for the deaths of two Black men, has been found guilty on all nine felony counts.

BRAINPOWER DUMBING - The near hysteria, though justifiable, among conservatives concerning the imposition of racialist Critical Race Theory (CRT) in schools fails to address how this theology both reflects and contributes to the “systemic” decline of education itself.

COMMENTARY - My view from the ground as a Southern California community organizer is aligned with the latest poll released by Berkeley.

EASTSIDER-Chutzpah is a wonderful word with which to brand the LA City Council, particularly when it comes to their new Ordinance putting the homeless in their place.

RIGHTS OF THE UNHOUSED-Organizations from across Los Angeles (including U.T.A.C.H, LACAN, LATU, Unión de Vecinos, Reclaiming our Homes, and members of the SNS coalition) gathered at City Hall on Wednesday to protest the City Council’s second hearing of Councilmember Mark Ridley Thomas’s alternate motion that bans sitting, lying down, and sleeping on large swaths of LA sidewalks, leaving the unhoused to ask the question, “Where will we go?”  

PLANNING WATCH-The Atlantic magazine, a consistent source of thoughtful American opinion since 1857, has added its voice to the chorus praising trickle-down housing policies through Conor Friedersdorf’s essay: The California Dream is Dying.

THE CITY-Margaret Sullivan (photo above) writing in the Washington Post (Bezos) recommended more coverage of democracy, less politics.  

DATA POWERFUL - Amazon continues its relentless crusade to monopolize markets, crush rivals, and extract as much data as possible from unsuspecting consumers and third-party merchants.