HOUSING TAX - Almost 80 years ago, in 1943, Los Angeles introduced the rest of the United States to the phenomenon of smog. At one point that year, the haze had visibility down a frightening three city blocks.
LOS ANGELES
Metro Approves Ambassadors for Transit Riders
LA TRANSPO - I am no stranger to riding buses and trains in the Metro network, and other municipal bus agencies.
So Why Are the Homeless Missing In the 2022 Elections?
THE EASTSIDER - There is a lot of talk about the homeless this election year, but is anyone really addressing their plight? You decide.
Homes Not Zones: The Services Not Sweeps Coalition Exposes LA’s Latest Attempt to Criminalize Unhoused Angelenos
GUEST COMMENTARY--On October 21, LA City Councilmembers Blumenfield, Buscaino, Rodriguez, Krekorian, Price, Cedillo, and Lee presented a motion to drastically expand the criminalization and banishment of unhoused Angelenos across the city.
LA Needs to Plan, Plant and Care for a Proper Urban Forest – While It Still Can.
PLANNING WATCH - Los Angeles does not have a shrinking and mediocre urban forest by chance.
So Big the Land, So Small the LA Politicians
THE EASTSIDER - Recently, I’ve made a number of train trips to and from Los Angeles and New Mexico.
Bike Chop Shops Get The “Homeless Treatment” From Politicos
DEEGAN ON LA—Bike chop shops operating in the public right of way have come under the glare of the same city hall politicos that targeted homeless encampments in the public right of way.
East LA Progressives Score Big in Primary
GUEST COMMENTARY - As the sun went down June 7, Dr. Rocío Rivas refreshed her phone at her Election Night gathering in Highland Park.
“Garbage In, Garbage Out” Explains Why The Housing Crisis Is Getting Worse.
PLANNING WATCH - If you wonder why LA’s housing crisis gets steadily worse, you need not look any further than the old adage: “Garbage in; garbage out.”
Is This the Beginning of a Recession?
RantZ and RaveZ - I would like to begin in Memory of the two El Monte Police Officers who were killed in the line of duty responding to a radio call last week.
Are Progressive District Attorneys at Risk?
ACCORDING TO LIZ - Progressives went into meltdown mode in the wake of San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s (above right) recall in San Francisco two weeks ago.
Is There A Message In Gina Viola’s Mayoral Election Attempt?
DEEGAN ON LA—-A complete unknown, with no previous political experience and very little money, did almost as well as the politically established Kevin De Leon (CD14) in the mayoral race primary results.
Despite Widespread “LA-Needs-More-Cops” Electioneering, The LAPD Won’t Be Riding To The Rescue.
PLANNING WATCH - Calls for more cops and mass incarceration are sure fire ways for candidates to obtain favorable press coverage and generous donations from wealthy donors.
Wildfires Over Eagle Rock
ACCORDING TO LIZ - It was 4:46 in the morning when the first shock shook many of the residents of Eagle Rock awake.
Can We Really Trust Mitch O’Farrell’s Affordable Housing Claims?
HOUSING WATCH - “More than 4,000 units of affordable housing and counting!”
Kingmaker Kate Pynoos in CD13?
DEEGAN ON LA - A “practical progressive” can suddenly tilt the CD13 election runoff and should be feared by incumbent Mitch O’Farrell (CD13) more than he may be wary of his titular opponent Hugo Soto-Martinez.
Why The Grove Mall Cannot Be Scaled up to “Fix LA”
PLANNING WATCH - The entry of highly successful shopping mall developer Rick Caruso into LA’s mayoral race, included spending over $30 million of his own money on campaign advertising, has generated detailed scrutiny of Mr. Caruso’s Grove Shopping Mall (photo above).
Crime Trends are Up. Will Election Make a Difference?
RantZ and RaveZ - The L.A. voters have set the tone for the November General Election.
Artificial Gridlock: Who Put the ‘DIE’ in LA Road DIEts?
ACCORDING TO LIZ - At a time when the country is still reeling from a wave of mass shootings over the weekend, this article is about death on the streets of L.A.
Reparations: Another Racist Screed Hits the Fan
THE VIEW FROM HERE - California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans’ interim report was issued on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. It is worse than expected!
New LAUSD Superintendent Doesn’t Want The Homeless Near His Schools
DEEGAN ON LA—The sounds of kids having fun in school yards will be out of earshot of the homeless if the City Council and the LAUSD get a proposed 500-foot exclusionary zone prohibiting the homeless from settling near schools and day care centers.